Love and War
by Patrick Leclaire
Summary: SSHG, and a little HPGW, war breaks out when Voldemort finds out about snape's new girlfriend, and where's Ron? please R&R COMPLETE!
1. Remedial Potions, Miss Granger

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the plot  
  
Ron and Hermione were sitting in the lunch hall.  
  
"Where is Harry? Ginny is missing too," Hermione said to Ron.  
  
"Dunno," Ron said, "I guess that leaves just the two of us," he pointed out unnecessarily. He had liked Hermione for a very long time, and he always got nervous whenever they were alone. He mentally kicked himself.  
  
"I guess so," Hermione said unsurely, then the bell rang, "oh, I guess lunch is over, what's our next class?" She asked, as it was the first day of school and she hadn't yet had time to memorize her schedule.  
  
Ron look at his schedule and let out a huge sigh. "Double Potions," he said angrily.  
  
Hermione laughed and the walked out of the Great Hall together. She suddenly gasped at what she saw as they saw when they walked out of the room. Right by the door of the school, Harry was standing behind Ginny, with his arms around her, his chin resting on her shoulder.  
  
"You have to let go now, Harry," Ginny said sadly.  
  
"Do I have to?" Harry whined.  
  
"Unfortunately, yes," Ginny said, reluctantly pushing herself away from Harry. She then gasped as she realized who was watching. "uh-oh," she said.  
  
"Wha.....," Harry didn't have to finish, he saw Ron and Hermione watching them, Hermione smirking, Ron scowling.  
  
"VIRGINIA WEASLEY!!!" Ron bellowed, "WHAT TA FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?!", Hermione jumped a little. Then Ron noticed Harry standing there, looking nervous. "HARRY! SHE'S MY SISTER, DAMN IT!!" Ron yelled.  
  
"Well, I think it's sweet," Hermione said, trying to change the direction of the conversation.  
  
Lavender Brown and Parviti Patil were standing, watching what was going on. "Honestly, Ron, you've got something seriously wrong with you, if you're still upset with Harry and Ginny dating after six months," Parviti pointed out, immediately realizing that she shouldn't have, noticing Harry's horror-struck countenance.  
  
Ron whipped his wand out and pointed it right at Harry. He probably would've done something, if Professor Snape hadn't walked by.  
  
"No magic in the corridors, Weasley, 10 points from Gryffindor!" Snape yelled. He walked away. Hermione couldn't help think that he winked at her, she immediately perishing the thought, thinking it crazy. She was brought back to reality, when she was shoved.  
  
She saw Ron storming by, muttering something that sounded like an unenthused "Sorry, 'Mione".  
  
"Ron, wait!" Hermione yelled, but it was too late, Ron had stormed off towards the Potions classroom.  
  
Harry kissed Ginny good bye and went off with Hermione to the potions classroom.  
  
"You should've told him sooner," Hermione exclaimed. "Do you think he would've reacted any differently," Harry snapped.  
  
"Probably not, Harry, but at least he couldn't have blamed you for lying to him, and he would've had more time to adjust to the idea," Hermione argued.  
  
"I know, but it's too late now, Hermione, Ron'll never talk to me again, Ginny either!" Harry said, getting increasingly upset.  
  
"You have no one to blame but yourself, Harry, instead of yelling at me, maybe you should talk to Ron, and clear this whole thing up," Hermione declared.  
  
"You're right, I know you are," Harry said, appreciating that he had Hermione around.  
  
They arrived at the potions classroom early, watching Ron ignore them, pretending to be joking around with Dean and Seamus. He shot a glare at Harry, but semi-smiled at Hermione.  
  
Professor Snape unlocked the door and ushered everyone in, "Everyone take your seats and stop talking", Snape said dryly.  
  
"Hermione, over here!" Ron said in a whisper that was barely audible, gesturing to the seat next to him.  
  
'What's wrong with this picture?' Hermione thought to herself, looking at where Ron was sitting. Then she noticed, there was only one other seat there, indicating that he didn't want Harry to sit with him.  
  
"Go ahead," Harry said, noticing Hermione having trouble deciding, "just try to tell him how sorry I am," Harry finished. Hermione nodded and took a seat next to Ron. Harry went off to sit next to Neville, who didn't ask any questions about this sudden change in sitting. Snape seemed to notice too, and shot Hermione a questioning look.  
  
'Did Snape just look at me?' Hermione thought, looking at Snape, their eyes locked for a solid five seconds. Snape was the first to look away, Hermione sighed sadly. Then she thought 'For a git of a teacher, he has nice eyes." Hermione shook her head and questioned what had made her think that.  
  
"Today we'll be working on an invisibility potion, talk only when necessary and follow exactly the directions on the board," Snape instructed, and with a flick of his wand, a set of instructions appeared on the board. The class began working. About an hour went by, when Dumbledore walked in. He stood right in front of where Ron and Hermione were working. Well, actually where Hermione was working and Ron was sleeping.  
  
Snape walked over to the desk too, and the two professors began talking. Hermione heard the words "The Order" and decided that it was none of her business and tried her best to tune it out. She started to look back at her potion, when she was caught once again by her potion professor's eyes. They were a dark brown, easily mistakable for black. Hermione found herself not being able to look away. She was hypnotized by his eyes. Snape took a step back, accidentaly knocking a tube of flobberworm mucous into Hermione's potion. The effect was an explosion, Ron fell backwards, while Hermione immediately feel to the ground, unconscious.  
  
"Hermione!" Snape yelled. The color suddenly drained from his face, he wasn't sure what to do. He yelled, "REVIVO!" and Hermione soon woke up. She noticed how nervous Snape looked. Snape knew that she noticed. He immediately regained composure and said, "Miss Granger, if you're going to be so careless in your potion making, perhaps you should see me after class for remedial potions, every Tuesday and Thursday, after dinner."  
  
"Remedial potions?!" Hermione said, anger evident in her voice.  
  
"Indeed, any more argument and it'll be detention, you'll receive a D (A/N: D=dreadful, refer to OOTP for the grading system) on today's assignment, class dismissed," Snape declared.  
  
'I can't believe this' Hermione thought, close to tears. A rush of hatred for Snape came through her. She ran out of the class, not talking to Ron or Harry.  
  
A/N: not too bad, eh? It's only my second fic. I'm not exactly sure where it's going from here, but I assure you, by tomorrow I'll have a new update for you. I hope to update daily. 


	2. You look enchanting

Harry ran out after her. He knew why she was upset, she was jus basically told that she wasn't excelling in something, and he knew, even if she wouldn't admit to it, excelling was very important to her.

"Hermione, don't worry about what Snape says, you know, I know, and I bet he even knows, that you're probably the smartest girl in the school. He was probably just in a bad mood, I bet it could've been anyone," Harry said trying to make her feel better. He put his arm around her, trying to comfort her.

"Oh Harry, I know that, but I was embarrassed in front of the whole class, just because he was having a bad day, by dinner, it'll be all over the school," Hermione said through sobs.

Just as she finished her sentence, Ron came running in, a look of concern on his face. He saw Harry, with his arm around Hermione, he just stood there staring at them, then anger became evident in his eyes.

"Ron, we're not……," Harry began, he knew Hermione couldn't argue back, as she was still sobbing into his shoulders.

"Oh, don't bother trying to explain anything to me, but you better have a damn good excuse prepared for Ginny, as I know I'll tell her, right while I'm telling her 'I told you so!'" Ron said.

"RON!! Listen to me! Hermione is upset, I was just comforting her, she's still one of my best friends even if you refuse to be," Harry bellowed, his patience gone

It was no use, before Harry finished, Ron had stormed off. Hermione's sobs grew heavier, Harry's cloaks were drenched.

What seemed like a long while later, Hermione finally regained composure. Harry walked with her to their next and last class of the day, double Herbology.

Just as he had done last class, Ron was standing outside the greenhouse door, pretending to be joking with Dean and Seamus, Harry and Hermione knew however, that he was miserable.

Herbology seemed to take forever, as they just discussed poisonous weeds, for the whole two hours. Ron had chosen to sit away from them, not even inviting Hermione this time. Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of quite possibly the longest day Hermione had ever lived through.

Harry and Hermione walked to the Great Hall together. As they got closer, they noticed a very angry Ginny Weasley.

Harry, trying to ignore her anger, said "Hey, sweetheart," leaning in to kiss her on the cheek.

"Don't 'Hey, sweetheart' me, you disgusting asshole. Ron told me all about what you and Hermione were doing this afternoon," Ginny said, her voice strong. Then to the surprise of both Harry and Hermione, Ginny began to cry. She said "I thought you loved me," through heavy sobs.

"Maybe I better go……." Hermione began.

"No, don't, we do owe Ginny something of an explanation," Harry said.

It was obvious that Ginny was preparing for the worst. But her fears were put to rest, as Harry said sweetly, "Ron is just angry, you saw how he reacted when he saw you and me after lunch, he's just angry with me, he probably just wanted to ruin our relationship, and besides, you know that I love more than life, I could never cheat on you."

"I know, Harry, I'm sorry I didn't trust you, I love you too," Ginny said, "We should talk to Ron though," she declared. "Sometimes, I just think he gets jealous that I have someone to love me, and he doesn't, you know how much he loves Hermione, but he just can't seem to ask her……." Ginny began, she immediately stopped, as she remembered that Hermione was there.

"W-What?" Hermione began nervously, not believing what she just heard.

"Uh-oh, well there's no point in hiding it any longer, Ron loves you, more than you could ever possibly know," Harry told Hermione. He continued, "he's just afraid you won't feel the same way."

Hermione felt her stomach jerk violently, she had never thought of Ron as more than a friend, a really good friend, but a friend nonetheless. She just continued on to the Great Hall, not bothering to acknowledge the comment, and not speaking at all through dinner. She just kept thinking of Ron, how he must feel, and how he would when he finally got up the courage to ask her out, and she would be forced to tell him the truth.

Ginny and Harry went up to the common room alone that night, much before dinner had actually ended. Hermione figured they went up to have one of their make out sessions, that they usually had after a fight. Hermione was left, sitting across from Lavender and Parviti.

"They make such a nice couple," Parviti said, watching them exit.

"Yes, they're so lucky," Lavender declared, "What about you and Ron, Hermione?" she blurted out of nowhere.

"Oh, we're just friends, really, I could never date him," Hermione said firmly.

"You know, it's too bad you're not a little older, because, believe it or not, I think you'd make a great girlfriend for Professor Snape, wouldn't agree, Lavender?" Parviti asked.

"Oh yes, they look so good together," Lavender agreed.

(back in the Gryffindor common room)

Harry and Ginny were on the sofa in front of the fire, kissing passionately, as was suspected. Hermione was at the other end of the room, completing a homework assignment. Just then Ron walked in. He looked right at Harry and Ginny and walked away.

Harry ran after him and grabbed his arm. "Ron we need to talk," Harry declared. "I love Ginny, I'm sorry we didn't tell you earlier, we were afraid of how you'd react," Harry said nervously.

Ron was silent for a moment then said, "I'm sorry too, I can't stay mad at you, and I can't blame you for being nervous, I hope you and Ginny are very happy together," and he pulled his best friend into a hug.

Hermione smiled, as she watched her two best friends become reunited.

(the next day)

The next day, went on as usual, the Gryffindor trio, walking happily through the school grounds, and to classes together. Hermione however was nervous, for her first remedial potions lesson was today.

The school went by fast and before she knew it, Hermione was standing in front of the potions classroom door. Snape came and let her in, he seemed unusually cheery today. Hermione noticed this right away, and some of her nerves subsided.

"You look enchanting tonight, Miss Granger," Snape blurted out, not quite sure himself why he had said that. It was true though, he thought, she did look very good. 'Better than very good, she looks beautiful.' he thought. 'Why am I having these thoughts though?' he wondered. 'Not only is she a student and a Gryffindor, she is a mudblood.' he couldn't deny it though, she was beautiful.

"Er…..Thank-you, Professor," Hermione said, not sure what was going on.

And so the work began, Snape stayed in his good mood, and it wasn't half as hard as Hermione thought it would be. She actually enjoyed working with Professor Snape, discussing potions with him, he even made a joke or two throughout the lesson. 'Maybe he's not so bad," Hermione thought as she headed back to the Gryffindor tower.

A/N: well, I guess this was the start of it all, but I doubt I'll into the real good stuff until at least chapter 5, be patient, because this is gonna be good. Thanks to all my reviewers, I tried to follow all the advice you gave me. I'll try and update tomorrow, thanks again!


	3. Then whom?

And so it went, Hermione went to her remedial potions lessons, twice a week, as she was instructed. During this time, however, Hermione noticed a change in her Potions professor's attitude. In class, he was just like he always was, rude and he always seemed to favor the Slytherins. Hermione noticed herself getting some special treatment in the class too. An extra point for Gryffindor here and there, and a wink. She always got a wink from Snape during class. In remedial potions, Snape was nice, Hermione found him almost charming. Hermione was also happy that she still had Ron and Harry to talk too, and they weren't fighting anymore. Harry and Ginny were still happily dating. Hermione wouldn't admit to it, but she envied them, she wanted someone to love her too, and she couldn't help remembering what Parviti and Lavender said about her and Snape. That was almost 2 months ago, but she still remembered it.  
  
(In the Gryffindor common room, after classes, November 15th)  
  
"You know, Hermione, the Yule Ball is just under 3 weeks away," Ron pointed out, Hermione then realized that they were alone in the common room.  
  
"Where are Harry and Ginny?" Hermione asked, a look of disappointment spread over Ron's face.  
  
"Oh, they went up to the boys' dorm a few hours ago, Harry said he wanted to show Ginny something, I can't believe they've been gone for so long up there, though," Ron said.  
  
"Oh, I see," Hermione said, laughing slightly. "What about the Yule Ball?" she asked, even though she knew what was coming.  
  
"Oh, ya, do you have a date for it?" Ron asked, his face turning red.  
  
"No," Hermione said.  
  
"Oh, well, then maybe you'd go with me then? I mean, it's okay if you don't want to….." Ron said, looking at the floor.  
  
"Sounds great, I was hoping I could just go with a friend anyway, it'll be fun," Hermione said brightly.  
  
"Ya," Ron said, slightly disappointed. "Just friends……."  
  
"Is something the matter, Ron?" Hermione asked sadly.  
  
"Ugh, there's something I have to tell you," Ron said, his voice shaking.  
  
"S-Sure, Ron, anything," Hermione said.  
  
"I….I….." Ron said, shaking.  
  
"You, what? We're best friends, Ron, you can tell me anything," Hermione said. She heard footsteps, coming down the boy's dormitory stairs.  
  
Hermione and Ron both looked over, they saw nothing and just assumed it was probably just Crookshanks.  
  
"What's going on in there?" Ginny whispered, hiding behind a the door, leading up from the common room, standing next to Harry watching from far away her brother and Hermione.  
  
"I think he's going to tell her now," Harry guessed.  
  
"Oh that's great!" Ginny said, leaning in to kiss Harry.  
  
"I don't know, dear, I don't think Hermione likes him as anything more than a friend," Harry said.  
  
"Are you kidding? They're perfect for each other!" Ginny said, almost too loudly.  
  
"Shhh," Harry said, placing a finger over her lips.  
  
(Back to Ron and Hermione)  
  
"What is it, Ron?" Hermione asked again.  
  
"I…..I….love you, I've always loved you, more than anything," Ron confessed. A small gasp from the still hidden Harry and Ginny. Little did they know, on the opposite side of the room, the staircase leading up from to the girl's dorms, Lavender and Parviti were watching quietly.  
  
"I think she'll say that she loves him too," Lavender declared.  
  
"No way, I think she's liked Snape after we put the idea in her head, and besides, she said it herself, she could never date him," Parviti said.  
  
"Well?" Ron asked anxiously, he thought that she was going to say the she loved him too, so he seized the moment and leaned in and kissed her. There were gasps from all four onlookers.  
  
Hermione didn't know what to do, 'I don't like Ron more than a friend,' she reminded herself and before she knew what she was doing, she slapped Ron across the face, as hard as she could. Another four gasps.  
  
"Hermione….." Ron said, tears in his eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry Ron, I've never thought of you as more than a friend. I could never love you more than that. I hope we can still be friends," Hermione said, she could feel tears coming too.  
  
"Er…" he couldn't finish, he immediately ran up his room, not able to even look at Hermione. Luckily, Harry and Ginny hadn't been seen, as Ron ran straight past them.  
  
Harry and Ginny came out from hiding an came to console Hermione. Lavender tripped over her own shoe laces and fell out into the common room, bringing Parviti down with her.  
  
"What are you two doing up this late?" Harry asked Parviti and Lavender agrily.  
  
"Oh, just getting a drink of water!" Parviti said as though it was the first time she had heard the idea.  
  
"Nice try, but you have a water fountain in your room, we know you were here listening, you can't tell a soul what you've heard" Ginny said threateningly.   
  
"No, no, of course not," Lavender said, looking nervously at Ginny's eyes.  
  
"Good, no off you go," Harry commanded.  
  
"Why should we listen to you?" Parviti demanded. Then she noticed Harry and Ginny glaring at them, and Lavender pulled off to bed.  
  
"I feel awful, Ron'll never speak to me again," Hermione said sobbing.  
  
"Sure he will, Hermione, give him time though, because he really did love you," Harry said consolingly.  
  
"I could talk to him if you'd like," Ginny offered.  
  
"Better let me do it, okay?" Harry said.  
  
"Ya, okay then," Hermione said, trying to regain composure, then failing at doing so.  
  
Harry kissed Ginny goodnight, and ran upstairs to his dorm.  
  
"Hermione, could I ask you something?" Ginny asked.  
  
"Ya, I suppose so," Hermione said, still sobbing.  
  
"If not my brother, Ron, whom do you love?" Ginny asked, immediately regretting it.  
  
Hermione gulped, "Ginny what I'm about to tell you, I tell you as your best friend, do you swear to tell no one?"   
  
"Of course, besides, it can't be that bad," Ginny said, trying to convince herself more than Hermione.  
  
"I think I sort of have a crush on Professor Snape," Hermione confessed, feeling slightly better now that it was out in the open.  
  
"Fuck," Ginny gasped. "How could you possibly like Snape?"  
  
"I don't know, he's just so different at our Remedial Potions lessons," Hermione said.  
  
"Er…okay then, I think I'm going to go to bed now, g'night Hermione," Ginny said, wanting to forget what she just heard.  
  
"G'night," Hermione said.  
  
A/N: sorry I didn't update yesterday like I promised, but this is my first time writing fics in over a year and I completely forgot how to load new chapters, luckily I remembered. Anyway, chapter 4 should be out tomorrow or later this evening. And finally I'll try and start the SS/HG stuff that I wanted to wait until chapter 5 for. I'm waiting because I want this to be relatively long, but I don't see it being as long as I would like it. I'm going have to drag out stuff (like the Parviti and Lavender thing in this chapter wasn't primarily planned, but it added a lot of words to this chapter). Again, I'd like to thank all my reviewers. I'm so happy. I got more reviews in one day for chapter 1 in this story, then I did in a year with a complete story with my first fic. Anyway, thanks again. I'll update asap. If you have any suggestions for my story, either put it in a review or e-mail it to . 


	4. I'm sorry

Hermione went off to bed, suddenly not looking forward to her remedial potions lesson the next day. 'Why does Ron have to love me?' she thought miserably. 'And why do I have to like Snape?' she could've cried. 'Was I doing the right thing in telling Ginny? I know she won't tell anyone but I know she'll be all weirded out by me now,' Hermione thought to herself. It was late. She looked at her watch and she found that it was no longer late at night, it was actually quite early in the morning. One o'clock to be exact. She finally fell asleep.  
  
The next started out terribly. Ron hadn't waited for her with Harry to go down to breakfast, which he usually did. Harry tried to make an excuse for him, "He wanted to get an early start so he could be to class on time," Harry lied.  
  
"Oh yes, of course," Hermione said, wishing she could believe him.  
  
Harry noticed her frustration right away and said "Listen, Hermione, he loved you, I doubt he'd throw away and entire friendship just like that, he'll come around eventually, besides, you're still going to the Yule Ball with him, aren't you?"  
  
"Oh, well he did ask me, but I highly doubt him still wanting to go with me…." Hermione said sadly.  
  
"I'm sure by then the whole thing will have subsided and you guys will go," Harry said, not quite sure of himself.  
  
"I hope so…." Hermione, almost in tears.  
  
They walked into the Great Hall, it was immediately obvious that Ron didn't want to see Hermione nor Harry, as he was already sitting between Dean and Seamus.  
  
"It's a good thing he's got those guys to run off to every time he's angry or else he'd probably go insane," Harry said, trying to make Hermione laugh.  
  
"Ya….." Hermione said, Harry wasn't entirely sure she had heard his comment.  
  
Harry and Hermione took a seat on either side of Ginny. Harry kissed her on the cheek. Hermione was trying to avoid he eyes.  
  
"Ron is still mad, I suppose?" Ginny asked unnecessarily.  
  
"Yup….." Hermione said, still avoiding her eyes.  
  
"What did you say to him last night, Harry?" Ginny asked, leaning her head on Harry's shoulder.  
  
"Nothing. When I walked in, he was pretending to be asleep, and by the time I was changed, he was asleep," Harry said.  
  
"That's just like him, he won't talk to anyone!" Ginny said, sounding angry.  
  
The morning dragged on the same way, Ron ignoring Harry and Hermione, pretending to be having a great time with Dean and Seamus. Harry had been trying in vain all day to cheer Hermione up, she barely spoke at all. Then lunch arrived. Harry and Hermione made an attempt to talk to Ron, by sitting in the seat he had sat in that morning with Dean and Seamus. Dean and Seamus didn't seem to have noticed, and they just sat somewhere else, Ron shot them a dirty look and he ran off to sit with Dean and Seamus.  
  
The next class was Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid noticed that the Ron had avoided Harry and Hermione all class. He called Harry and Hermione over after class.  
  
"'ow come yer ain't talkin' to Ron? He was one of yer best friends jus' yesterday, weren't he?" Hargrid asked, slightly concerned.  
  
Harry responded, "Oh, he's just upset about something, God only knows what, he'll come around, don't worry."  
  
"I sure hope so, it'd just kill me ter see such good friends be separatin'" Hagrid said.  
  
"Don't worry, it's not that serious," Hermione reassured him, not entirely sure herself.  
  
"Alright then, off yer go," Hagrid said forcing a smile on his face.  
  
Their next class was double potions. 'This is going to be hell,' Hermione thought to herself. Luckily, Snape was in a good mood, for he had just issued a detention to a first year Hufflepuff and had taken 20 points to a third year Gryffindor.  
  
"Good afternoon, class," Snape said. The whole class was surprised to see him so happy.  
  
After some hesitation the class returned a "Good afternoon, Professor."   
  
Snape walked up to his desk. This time, Hermione was sure she saw him wink at her. Her heart skipped a beat. 'Why is he winking at me constantly?' Hermione asked herself. Well, the lesson went along as usual, except for Snape's rather friendly mood and the fact the he called on Hermione every now and then, right out of nowhere.  
  
Dinner went exactly the same way as breakfast and lunch had. Ron ignoring them, laughing it up with Dean and Seamus. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny sitting alone. Harry and Hermione taking turns describing to Ginny their day. Ron, Dean, and Seamus walked out early, they began to head downstairs, to the dungeons. Hermione dreaded having to follow them. She reluctantly got up and left. She stopped to try and listen what the three boys were saying.  
  
"Hey Ron, you still like Hermione, don't you?" Seamus asked.  
  
"Fuck, no! She's such a damn whore. I can't believe I ever did like her in the first place," Ron said, laughing.  
  
"Hahahaha, I know what you mean," Dean agreed.  
  
That's how it went for a little while, them taking stabs at Hermione. Finally, Hermione couldn't take it anymore, she ran through them sobbing. Ron looked sad when he saw her.  
  
Hermione ran to Snape's classroom, still crying.  
  
"What's the matter?" Snape asked, sounding concerned.  
  
She didn't know why she had done it, but she did. She explained the whole situation she was in with Ron, starting with him telling her that he loved her. Snape seemed rather interested. He even put his around her shoulder, consolingly.  
  
'What am I doing?' Snape thought to himself. 'She's a fucking mud blood' but I can't remove my arm.  
  
Hermione finally stopped crying. She looked at Snape, about to thank him, but he was staring at her. He leaned in, he kissed her. Just then, Ron walked in, ready to apologize, but he walked in, they immediately stopped. Luckily, they didn't think Ron saw it.  
  
"What is it, Weasley?" Snape spat.  
  
"Just wanted to apologize to Hermione, sorry Hermione," Ron said nervously  
  
"It's ok, Ron, I forgive you," Hermione said, wanting to avoid an awkward silence.  
  
"Ok, then, Ron, she forgave you, now we have work to do in here, leave!" Snape ordered. Ron left right away.  
  
A/N: well it all starts here, next chapter the Yule ball! You'll never guess what will happen! I'll update tomorrow! Thanks to all my reviewers! 


	5. What just happened?

A/N: I'm sorry, really, I am, but I've decided to delay the Yule Ball until chapter 7, I know you're all angry, but I was inspired by something! This chapter is going to be a chapter consisting of what people who saw or were involved with the kiss between Snape and Hermione were thinking. As for next chapter, there's more SS/HG involved, I know if you've liked every chapter up to this point, you'll like chapter 6. Thanks for your understanding!  
  
(What Ron is thinking)  
  
'What just happened?' As Ron is walking down the corridor and up the stairs leading up to the Gryffindor common room, he can't help but think 'Did I just see what I think I saw?' He tried desperately to think it didn't really happen, that he didn't walk in on a kiss between Snape and Hermione. 'No, that can't be true, if it was, then he's probably the reason that Hermione wouldn't go out with me, and that just can't be right. I mean, Hermione does have some standards…..' He tried to think of another possibility as to why they were so close together when he had walked in. 'I've got it! Hermione must've done something wrong in her potion, and so Snape was getting all up in her face to yell at her. He has been known to do that…..' But he was still having a hard time believing that Hermione could ever make a mistake on a potion. 'Well, I'm sure it's entirely possible that Hermione had made a mistake, I bet if I went to the hour glass downstairs, I would find that Gryffindor had several points docked, because of Snape.' He went all the way back downstairs, only to find that Gryffindor's hourglass was at the same height as it was at dinner. 'Something I seriously wrong…….' He ran back upstairs, thinking of other possible excuses as to what could've possibly happened.  
  
(What Hermione is thinking)  
  
'What just happened?' Hermione kept asking herself. 'Did Snape just kiss me? Was he actually trying to comfort me? Not only that, does he actually like me, the way I think I like him?' These along with many others were the questions that were plaguing Hermione as she made he way back up to the Gryffindor common room. Then another thought crossed her mind. 'What did Ron see? What will he think? Did he even see? If so, will he ever forgive me?' She had just been kissed by someone whom she had liked for over a month, and she couldn't stop thinking about Ron. 'Life sucks' was he final thought as she entered through the portrait of the Fat Lady.  
  
(What Snape was thinking)  
  
'What just happened? What in God's name did I just do?' he asked himself. 'Hermione Granger? Aside from the fact that she a Gryffindor and I am and forever will be Slytherin, she's a mud blood, a filthy mud blood. I can't be falling for her. It would be unheard of! But yet somehow, I can't help liking her. I can't help feeling the way I feel when she's around. Ugh. But I do feel that way, I like her, I really do. This sucks. This really sucks. Me falling for some filthy mud blood, if would be easier if I could somehow completely sever ties between myself and the Dark Lord. If word of this ever gets to him, not only my life, but hers also, will be destroyed. Fuck!' Snape thought, taking a thought out of his head and placing into the pensieve which he had borrowed from Dumbledore.  
  
(What Lavender and Parviti thought)  
  
"Oh my God!" Lavender screamed.  
  
"I know, who would've thought fixing those two up would be so easy?" Parviti said happily.  
  
"All we had to do was tell Hermione that we thought she would and Snape would make a great couple and…." Lavender began.  
  
"BAM! A new couple is born. We really are great people, you know, Lavender?" Parviti asked.  
  
"Of course! Not many people would care enough about the happiness of a person, to do what we've done." Lavender replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
"It's amazing though, that he just leaned in and kissed her like he did," Parviti pointed out.  
  
"You're not kidding! And what about Ron, walking in right while it's happening! I bet that'll cause some huge problems in their 'friendship'" Lavender said.  
  
"You're right, we'd better hurry up to the common room so we don't miss anything! Oh, do you think there'll be fighting?" Parviti asked hopefully.  
  
"Wouldn't surprise me," Lavender answered.  
  
Hermione walks in the Gryffindor common room, to find Ron waiting up for her.  
  
"Er……Hey," Ron said nervously.  
  
"Um…..Hi," Hermione replied, trying to keep her composure.  
  
"Just wanted to wait up, so that I could give u a proper apology" Ron lied.  
  
"Oh, Ron, don't worry about it, something like that won't hurt our friendship any, we're best friends after all," Hermione assured him.  
  
"Right, but I am sorry, anyway, we're still on for the Yule Ball, right?" Ron asked, his face reddening.  
  
"Oh, yes, of course, I can't wait!" Hermione said truthfully.  
  
"Ya, me too," Ron agreed. Hermione began to go upstairs.  
  
"Hermione, wait! I know this sounds crazy, but I feel pressured to ask you something," Ron said.  
  
"What's that?" Hermione asked, already knowing the answer.  
  
"I know this is going to sound crazy, but when I walked in to your remedial potions lesson, I could've sworn I saw you and Snape kissing," Ron stated.  
  
"Hahaha, that does sound crazy, Ron," Hermione said a bit too quickly.  
  
"Ya, I thought so," Ron said, not quite assured.  
  
"G'night, Ron," Hermione said, wanting to end this conversation.  
  
"Ya, g'night, Hermione," Ron said.  
  
She kissed him on the cheek and they both headed off to bed. Just then, Parviti and Lavender rushed in, watching disappointedly as they saw Ron and Hermione walk upstairs.  
  
"Damn it all! We missed it," Parviti said, almost in tears.  
  
"We'll get them next time," Lavender assured her.  
  
Just then, a scream rang throughout the room, and within seconds, all of Gryffindor was heading out to the common room to see what was causing the commotion.  
  
"WHAT TA FUCK?!" Ron bellowed.  
  
"Ron, calm down, please, it's not as bad as it seems," Ginny tried to tell him.  
  
"OH REALLY? BECAUSE IT SEEMS THAT MY BEST FRIEND IS HAVING SEX WITH MY LITTLE SISTER!!!!" Ron yelled.  
  
"Ron! I'm not so little anymore, I'm 15, and in my 5th year at school," Ginny tried to convince him.  
  
"GET OUT, NOW!" Ron commanded. Ginny ran out crying.  
  
"Ron, please!" Harry said, speaking for the first time.  
  
"SHUT TA FUCK UP!!" Ron said, shooting Harry a dirty look, and closing the curtains to his bed.  
  
"Well, maybe tonight wasn't a total loss," Parviti said optimistically.  
  
"At least we saw some show," Lavender agreed. The two girls went off to bed.  
  
A/N: well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. By the way, any ideas as to how Lavender and Parviti found out about Hermione's and Snape's kiss? Don't worry, all will be told in time. Next chapter: Snape is Hermione's detention monitor, what's in store for them? Until tomorrow! Thanks again to all my reviewers!!! 


	6. To whom the heart needs

Hermione felt awful about not being completely honest with Ron. 'It's not like I lied completely…..I never said that I didn't kiss Severus….I mean Snape. I just said that it sounded crazy, which it does. So really I was being honest. Then why do I feel so guilty?' She asked herself. She walked downstairs to the common room, where she was greeted by Ron and Harry.  
  
" Hey Hermione," the two boys said in unison.  
  
"Hey," she said half heartedly.   
  
"Shall we go then?" Harry asked, trying desperately to avoid another fight between his two best friends, which he knew was impossible if one of them got annoyed at the other.  
  
"Right," Hermione agreed.   
  
So they walked downstairs to the Great Hall, as they had done almost every other morning. Harry noticed something different in Ron's attitude though. He sounded like he was going out of his way to be overly friendly. He was doing it in a nervous way too.  
  
"Everything alright, Ron?" Harry asked.  
  
"Er…yes, fine, why do you ask?" Ron answered, a bit too quickly.  
  
"You're just acting strangely or something, as if you were afraid something is going to jump out at you, I'm probably just imagining it though, forget I mentioned it," Harry said, still not convinced.  
  
"Uh….Right," Ron said.  
  
They arrived in the Great Hall and took their usual seats in the middle of the Gryffindor table. Harry kissed Ginny on the cheek, Ron tried to look away.  
  
Ron pulled Harry by the arm to whisper in his ear, "I'm sorry about last night, Harry, I shouldn't have reacted the way I did."  
  
"Er….don't worry about it, Ron, but don't be surprised if the news is already all over the school," Harry said.  
  
"How would anyone know, except the Dean, Seamus, and Neville?" Ron asked.  
  
"Well, I know you didn't notice it, but you woke up the entire Gryffindor house," Harry said nervously.  
  
"Oh, well, I won't let that bother me, I'll just knock the lights out of anyone who I hear talking about it," Ron said slightly angry. Just then Lavender and Parviti walks by.  
  
"Good show, Ron," Lavender said as if it was nothing.  
  
"It kept me entertained for a few minutes," Parviti said trying to reinforce what Lavender had said.  
  
"Shut up," Ron said, his face turning red.  
  
"What class do we have first today?" Hermione asked, trying to avoid Ron's explosion.  
  
"Defense against the Dark Arts," Ron said, still obviously upset.  
  
"Oh, well, we'd better get going then," Hermione said.  
  
"Right," Harry agreed.  
  
They walked up to the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom. The bell rang as the three walked in the door.  
  
"Sit down everyone," replied their new teacher, ex-auror, Kingsley Shacklebolt. "Today we will be working on the 'Flipendo knock back jinx," he declared. "Take out your wand, move it to the left, then to the right and yell 'Flipendo'" he instructed.  
  
Harry and Hermione were paired together. After the proper wand movements, Hermione yelled, "Flipendo!" and Harry was knocked back several feet. Harry did the same, Hermione was pushed back just as far.  
  
"Excellent! Five points to Gryffindor!" Professor Shacklebolt said. After he saw that everyone was soon catching on, he said, "Wonderful, class dismissed," and the bell rang.  
  
"Ugh, I swear I was the only one in our class who couldn't properly perform that spell, I thought it was pretty difficult!" Ron complained.  
  
"If you'd like, I could show you," Hermione said.  
  
"Sure, how about now?" Ron asked.  
  
"I can't now, we're not allowed to perform spells in the halls," Hermione warned.  
  
"I know, I know, but who cares, there aren't any teachers around," Ron said, not actually looking.  
  
"Ugh, fine," she agreed. "FLIPENDO!!!" she yelled, the spell was so strong was knocked off his feet.  
  
"HERMIONE GRANGER! You of all people should know better than to use magic in the halls, I'm most disappointed in you! I'm afraid I'll have to give you a detention for this evening!" Professor Flitwick said.  
  
"But Professor!" Hermione protested.  
  
"No buts, I will see you in my office tonight at seven sharp, don't be late," Professor Flitwick said.  
  
"Yes, sir," Hermione said, she could feel tears in her eyes.  
  
"Hermione, I'm so sorry," Ron tried to tell her, but it was no point, she had already ran into the girls' bathroom crying.  
  
'Detention? Me?! This is awful! I've never had to go to detention alone before' Hermione thought to herself. 'It's all Ron's fault, I told him I didn't want to do it, and look where it landed me!'  
  
The day went by all too quickly and before she knew it, it was six thirty, and she found herself heading up to Professor's Flitwick's office.  
  
"Oh, didn't you hear? Professor Snape has offered to monitor your detention this evening," Professor Flitwick squeaked.  
  
"Oh, ok," Hermione said. 'Did he just say that Snape offered to monitor my detention? This will be interesting' Hermione thought almost happily to herself. Hermione began her way down to the dungeons. Soon, she was in front of the door to Professor Snape's office. She knocked on the door, and Professor Snape was out instantly.  
  
"Your punishment will be to clean out the school's music room," Snape said dryly.  
  
" I didn't know this school had a music room," Hermione blurted out.  
  
"Oh, of course, not to worry, it's not too big, and even though most teachers wouldn't, I will allow you to use magic to do clean it," Snape said, almost nicely.  
  
"Oh, um…thank you, Professor," Hermione said.  
  
"Here we are," Snape said, standing in front of two doors which Hermione had never seen before. Snape opened the doors to reveal many old instruments. "I suppose since I have to watch you anyway, I'll help you, so I can get out of here sooner," Snape said casually.  
  
"How nice of you," Hermione said.  
  
And so they worked, for what didn't seem long at all.  
  
"Finished," Snape said. He walked over to the piano and began to play a song. Even though Hermione didn't recognize it, she thought it sounded beautiful.  
  
"That was lovely," Hermione said truthfully. "But won't other teachers get suspicious?" Hermione asked sounding slightly nervous.  
  
"Oh, don't worry, you're the only person in the entire world who can hear this song," Snape told her.  
  
"So it whether or not person can hear the music depends on the person who's playing?" Hermione asked slightly confused.  
  
"That's correct," Snape stated,  
  
"I'm still a little confused, it depends on what's in the person's mind?" Hermione asked sounding flustered.  
  
"I can award one point to Gryffindor for that explanation. Too bad though, it could've been two points, a more proper explanation would be, what's in the player's heart," Snape explained.  
  
"So basically, it what the player's heart wants?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Well, I suppose I could award five points to Gryffindor for that. But once more, you could've doubled it, by giving the more proper explanation," Snape said.  
  
"Which would be…….?" Hermione asked, getting confused again.  
  
"The only person who can hear it, is not whom the player's heart wants, but whom the player's heart needs," Snape explained. Hermione gasped, at the realization of what he meant. "Don't tell me you didn't know?" Snape asked, "that I've fallen for you."   
  
Hermione pushed one of the piano keys herself, "Could you hear it?" she asked.  
  
"Clear as a bell," Snape said happily. Before she could say anything else, Snape had leaned in once again, and pulled her into a more deep, and passionate kiss.  
  
"How sweet!" Lavender whispered to Parviti.  
  
"I know that they don't know we're here, but I still feel as though we're intruding, perhaps we should leave?" Parviti said not tearing her eyes away from the kissing couple.  
  
"Right," Lavender agreed. They left the two, who still continued their kiss.  
  
A/N: What do you think? Next chapter the Yule Ball! Hermione loves Snape but has to go with Ron, I wonder what will happen there…… Thanks for your reviews. Any more ideas as to how Lavender and Parviti remain undetected? I've had one guess, but it was wrong, sorry. I'll help you. You'll find your answer in Chapter 3 of the OOTP. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thanks again to my reviewers! 


	7. I'd love to

A/N: sorry about the typo in the chapter 6! This is how the line should've read " "The only person who can hear it, is not whom the player's heart wants, but whom the player's heart needs," Snape explained" I tried to correct it, but I'm not sure the correction was ever loaded. Anyway, the moment you've all been waiting for……..The Yule Ball! Enjoy!  
  
Although all years 4-7 didn't have classes today, because of the Yule Ball, upon seeing him in the corridors, it was quite obvious that Professor Snape was more than a little upset. He was even yelling at the Slytherins. This upset two people most of all, Draco Malfoy, and Hermione Granger. Draco was upset simply because he couldn't get away with his usual antics. Of course, Hermione was more upset, because she knew why Snape was upset- The Yule Ball. It would've been fine with him if she had went alone, but he seemed almost jealous of the fact that she was going with Ron. 'But if he heard me playing the piano, then surely he would know that I'd rather go with him, that Ron and I are just friends,' Hermione forced herself to believe. Hermione was now in her dormitory bathroom, getting ready for the Yule Ball, less than two hours away.  
  
"Hey, Hermione, you know that detention you had with Professor Snape a little while ago?" Lavender asked.  
  
"Uh….ya, what about it?" Hermione asked nervously then it hit her 'How did she know that Snape had offered to take my detention?' she thought.  
  
"Oh, I just never asked you how it went, Parviti and I were just curious, because we know how detention with Snape can be, right, Parviti?" Lavender said.  
  
"Oh yes, of course, he just seemed a little nicer that day, we wondering if he went any easier on you," Parviti said, faking a concerned voice.  
  
"Well, a little bit," Hermione stated, her voice shaking. "B-But how did you know that Snape had offered to take my detention?" She asked.  
  
'Damn,' Lavender thought, she was nervous, 'How are we going to get ourselves out of this?'  
  
"Oh, we were heading up to the common room right as you were heading up to Professor Flitwick's office, we overheard there," Parviti lied. Lavender let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"Oh," Hermione said, not sounding convinced. The spent the next hour almost in silence, getting ready. Then Ginny walked in.  
  
"Ready?" Ginny asked.  
  
"Uh-huh," Hermione said. Ginny and Hermione went downstairs. They couldn't help but laugh at the site of Ron and Harry in their new dress robes.  
  
"What's so funny?" Ron asked, getting angry  
  
"Oh, nothing," Hermione said, trying to suppress her laughter.  
  
"Let's go," Harry said, offering Ginny his arm, she took it, and they began to walk down. It was obvious wasn't sure what to do. So, after hesitating for a moment, he copied Harry's movement and offered Hermione his arm. She took it and she found herself wishing it was Severus.  
  
'Shut up! You're not going to be thinking of Severus all night! You promised Ron you'd go with him to the Yule Ball, so enjoy the time you're spending with him!' Hermione told herself.  
  
They walked into the Great Hall, and they located Harry and Ginny sitting down, drinking butterbeer. Harry wasn't paying attention to his butterbeer, he was just looking at Ginny's eyes. As he moved his hand over to Ginny's, he knocked his bottle down.  
  
Ginny laughed, she pointed her wand at the broken bottle and muttered "Reparo," but it was no use, the spell required her full attention, but her attention was focused on Harry.  
  
Hermione and Ron walked over to their table. Ron was watching Harry and Ginny, wishing he had with Hermione what they had with each other. He tried looking into her eyes, as Harry was doing to Ginny, but it was no use, Hermione was watching something else, something past the dance floor, onto the staff table. Then he realized the it probably wasn't a something, it was more than likely a someone.  
  
"What are you looking at?" Ron blurted out.  
  
"Oh, nothing, really," Hermione lied, trying to turn away from Professor Snape. She could've sworn he was looking right back at her. 'Stop it! You're here with Ron, at least pretend you're enjoying yourself,' she told herself.  
  
"Oh…" Ron said, frowning slightly. Then he realized she must have been looking at the dance floor, admiring all the couples on it. "Would you like to dance?" he asked, he could feel his face turning red.  
  
"Oh, um…sure!" Hermione answered somewhat reluctantly. She still wished she was there with Severus. 'That's quite enough, you will not think about Severus, for the rest of the evening!' she ordered herself.  
  
Ron grabbed her hand and brought her to the center of the dance floor.  
  
"You haven't asked me to dance!" Ginny complained.  
  
"Oh, I'm enjoying myself enough without dancing," Harry said still holding her hand and not taking his eyes away from hers.  
  
Ginny couldn't help but laugh. "Nonetheless, it would be nice," she persisted, "You know, several other people asked me to the Yule Ball, and I turned them down, just so I could go with you," she told him.  
  
"Oh really?" he asked sarcastically. "You know, I could've had my pick of pretty much anyone, but I picked you too, and I'd pick you again," he said smiling at Ginny. She was about to respond, but he had already pulled her into a kiss. "Would you like to dance?" Harry asked when the kiss was over.  
  
"Well, I don't know, I think I'm enjoying myself enough without dancing," Ginny said, smirking.  
  
"Oh please?" Harry whined.  
  
"Well, I guess a little while couldn't hurt," Ginny said.  
  
"Wonderful!" Harry exclaimed. Luckily, when the got out, a slow song was playing, and Harry pulled Ginny close and their dance commenced.  
  
"What's in you pocket? Something keeps poking me," Ginny asked.  
  
"Oh, it's nothing in my pocket," Harry explained. Ginny just smirked and let out a small chuckle, realizing what it was.  
  
At the other end of the dance floor, Ron and Hermione were dancing. Ron had just stepped on Hermione's foot for the 7th time.  
  
"OUCH!" Hermione said, pulling away from Ron slightly.  
  
"Sorry!" Ron said, looking nervous. The song was just ending, and Ron said "Excuse me for a moment,"  
  
"Where are you going?" Hermione asked, looking confused.  
  
"Bathroom," he stated simply, and ran out the door. He mentally kicked himself, as he heard another slow song beginning. 'Damn it!' he thought to himself.  
  
Back in the Great Hall, Hermione was standing alone on the dance floor, waiting for Ron to come back, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Then a deep, cold voice saying "Care to dance?"  
  
Hermione turned around, to find Snape. He was smirking down at her. 'Say no, Hermione, what if Ron walks in to see you dancing with Severus, he'll be crushed!' she thought to herself, but the only words she could muster were "I'd love to…."  
  
"Wonderful," Snape said, pulling her close and they began their dance.  
  
It was about halfway through the song, and Ron walked in, he immediately began searching the room for Hermione. He found her, only not the way he expected to. She was wrapped in the arms of his least favorite teacher, Professor Snape. He just stood their, feeling a mixture of both anger and sadness. He didn't know what to do. The song ended, and right away, Hermione saw Ron staring at her and Severus. Snape walked away, after kissing Hermione lightly on the cheek. Hermione walked over to Ron.  
  
"Er…Hey," she said hesitantly.   
  
"Hi," Ron said. Hermione couldn't tell if was angry or sad. She concluded that it was both. Then he spoke again, "How about another dance?"  
  
"Sure," Hermione said, happy that he was still willing to dance with her.  
  
'What am I doing? Why aren't I yelling? Crying? Showing any emotion at all? I should be doing something other than dancing. She said she'd go with me, I was gone for five minutes, and she goes and dances with someone else. Not just anyone else either, but Snape. But I can't stay mad at her, she doesn't know it but I still love her. I don't want to ruin this, this night could be perfect from here on out. I'll just not mention it. Why do I feel so sick?' Ron asked, as his stomach started hurting him. "Ugh, sorry Hermione, I'm not feeling well, I'll be back in just a minute," Ron said, and he ran out of the Great Hall again.  
  
Hermione just watched and again, she heard the same, deep, cold voice asking "Care to dance?" she turned around, and not to her surprise, she saw Severus again.  
  
'SAY NO! Ron didn't say it, but he was crushed, you can't do it again! You mustn't!' she ordered herself. "I'd love to…." was all that came out of her mouth.  
  
"Wonderful!" Snape said. Once again, they began dancing. Hermione was beginning to enjoy herself, then Ron walked in again. The song ended and Snape walked away, after kissing Hermione lightly on the opposite cheek.  
  
"Hermione, what's going on?" Ron asked trying to suppress his anger.  
  
"Nothing, Ron, I was just dancing with Severus before you came back," Hermione said.  
  
"Oh, ok," Ron said, wishing for a better explanation. They began dancing again. Soon, the dance was over and everyone was returning to their common room.  
  
"I had a lot of fun tonight, Ron," Hermione told him.  
  
"Me too," Ron agreed, kissing Hermione on the cheek, and running back to the bathroom, as I felt sick again.  
  
Snape came up and asked, "Have fun this evening?"   
  
"Severus! We could've gotten caught! I can't believe what we just did in there! I'm sure the whole school knows now!" Hermione yelled.  
  
"I doubt many of them were paying attention anyway, and besides, you could've easily said 'no'," Snape point out, smirking. He hugged Hermione.  
  
"I couldn't say no to you, Severus," Hermione said, laughing a little. He leaned in and kissed her, longer than ever before.  
  
"Well, Well, Well, I thought my eyes we deceiving me inside the Great Hall, but now that I've seen it for myself, I know for a fact that Professor Severus Snape is dating the mud blood, Hermione Granger, I'm sure Father will be rather fascinated by this piece of information," a cold voice sneered. Hermione recognized it immediately as Draco Malfoy's.  
  
"Mind your business, Malfoy!" Hermione yelled.  
  
"No can do, if Snape is going to choose this path, I'm afraid Father must know, so that he can alert the Dark Lord. Didn't you know Granger? Snape is still a death eater, even if he doesn't show it much anymore," Draco said laughing.  
  
"STUPEFY!" Snape yelled, the spell it Draco right in the chest and knocked him off his feet. He was unconscious. "He won't stay this way for long, get back upstairs, quick!" Snape ordered. Hermione ran away quickly, Snape ran off downstairs.  
  
As soon as both were out of site, Draco woke up. "Fuck!" he said out loud. 'Well, I can't prove it right now, but I will, Snape must be taught a lesson, and soon his mudblood girlfriend will learn too, not to mess with a pureblood!" Draco stormed off downstairs.  
  
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Oh and we have a winner! Congrats to OnEaglesWings for guessing how Lavender and Parviti knew about Snape and Hermione. Thanks to all my reviewers! Any ideas as to what Draco will do next? What about Ron? Keep the reviews coming, they're very much appreciated! 


	8. Would you care to go with me?

'She said she had a nice time with me, does that mean that, at long last, she loves me like I love her? She was dancing with Snape, twice, so perhaps the kiss that I thought I saw last month, actually could've happened, but she told me that it didn't. I'll have to tell her again how I feel, maybe that'll convince her that we're perfect for each other…….' Ron was thinking, the day after the Yule Ball, walking through the corridors. 'I'll write her a letter! I'll send it with Pig! I'd best begin writing now!' he declared, pulling out a roll of parchment. In a rather short time, Ron had written everything that Hermione meant to him and addressed it to her. He placed it in an envelope and headed to the Owlery.   
  
"Pig, I need you take this to Hermione, understood?" Ron said, holding out the letter for his owl. Pig nodded and took the letter in his beak and flew not out the window but straight into the hallway. 'I hope this works,' Ron thought nervously. He had so much to lose, yet so much he could gain.  
  
Pig went flying through the halls, only to stop at the two large wooden doors that led into the library. A student who was exiting the library left the door open just long enough for Pig to fly in. The student ran away, afraid of what Madame Pince would say, had she known that student let an owl in her library.  
  
Pig flew right up to where Hermione was sitting and placed the letter in front of her. She was so absorbed in her book that she didn't notice the tiny owl. Pig went up and started poking her arm with his beak.  
  
"Oh sorry, Pig, I didn't see you there, do you have a letter for me?" Hermione asked.  
  
The bird nodded, trying to use its wings to gesture towards the letter. Hermione grabbed the letter and immediately noticed Ron's handwriting. She began to read the letter quietly, surprised at what it said:  
  
Dear Hermione,  
  
I'm not sure how to say it, so I'll just come right out and confess. Words cannot describe how I feel about you, I'll do my best to try though. I love you. I've always loved you. After last night, when you told me that you had a good time at the Yule Ball, I thought for sure that you felt the same way. When I'm around you, I feel different than when I'm around anyone else. You make me feel different, you make me feel complete. You make me a better person. You're a ray of sunshine in my otherwise dark life. I can only hope that you do indeed feel the same way about me. However, despite what you say, I love you and I always will. You're perfect, Hermione.  
  
Love,  
  
Ron  
  
Hermione read his letter over again for the fifth time, to make sure that she had gotten the message right. 'Fuck…..' she thought to herself, as the words hit her. 'What am I going to do? He's my best friend and I don't want to hurt him, but that seems impossible at the moment. How can I tell him that I just want to be his friend, without hurting him,' she thought. Pig was about to fly away. "Pig! Wait, I need you give my reply to Ron," she explained. 'I guess this is the only way to do it, I must write him a letter, explaining to him, once and for all, that I just want to be friends,' she thought to herself. She wrote down he message to Ron, and sent Pig on his way. "Don't hate me, Ron, please!" she said out loud, and within seconds, she was in tears.  
  
Ron was still roaming the hallways nervously, waiting for a response. 'What's taking so long?' he wondered. No sooner had the question crossed his head, was Pig flying just above him, a letter in his beak. Pig dropped the letter on Ron's head. 'I've got a good feeling about this!' Ron thought to himself happily as he opened the letter. He began to read.  
  
Ron,  
  
I'm sorry, I really am, but I can't help it, I've always thought of you as just a friend. I'm flattered that you feel the way you do, but I can't feel that way. Don't be upset, I know you can go out and find someone even better than me. You're a great person Ron, and a really great friend, and that makes it so hard to tell you this. I can only hope that we can still maintain the friendship that we've had since our first year. I do care about you, Ron.  
  
Love your best friend,  
  
Hermione  
  
Ron only had to read it once, he didn't have time to read anymore, by the time he finished it the first time, he was sobbing. He felt as though a dementor had just sucked the life out of him, and that he could never possibly be happy again. He loved her so much, and now his entire world just came crashing down. He couldn't stop crying.  
  
"What's the matter?" said a high, concerned voice.  
  
"M-My life is…..is over," he stated through sobs.  
  
"Now, now, it can't be as bad as all that," said the sweet voice, placing a hand on Ron's shoulder.  
  
"It-It is, the only p-person I ever c-cared about d-doesn't love me the way I love her," Ron said, his tears not letting up.  
  
"Well, my love just left me too, I know exactly how you feel," the high voice said sweetly.  
  
After about ten minutes, Ron's tears let up, and he opened his eyes to see who the sweet girl that was comforting his was. He immediately noticed that she was beautiful, she had to be one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen. Ron recognized her as Hannah Abbot.  
  
"I'm sorry about, your love problems, Hannah," Ron said.  
  
"I'm sorry about yours two, maybe we can help each other through it," Hannah offered.  
  
"Sounds great," Ron said, feeling slightly happier. He never realized just how pretty she was.  
  
"You know, this weekend is a Hogsmeade weekend," Hannah began.  
  
"Would you like to go with me?" Ron asked.  
  
"I thought you'd never ask!" Hannah replied, kissed him on the cheek, and strode off. Ron was finally beginning to feel better.  
  
A/N: well, all is well that ends well, right? To bad this won't end well, eh? Well, I'll update tomorrow, enjoy! 


	9. Those fatal words

A/N: warning R rated is applicable here for reasons other than swearing, employ caution!  
  
It was the day before Ron's date with Hannah, he had yet to tell Hermione. Harry knew, and Ron assumed he told Ginny, but that was it. 'Why do I care if Hermione knows? We're best friends! She told me to go and find someone else and I did! Why doesn't it feel right? I don't feel as great as I did when I was with Hermione, but I like Hannah…….that counts for something right?' these were the thoughts running through Ron's head as he was walking down to the Great Hall in order to meet up with Hannah. He was on the third floor, and who did he find but Hermione, walking out of the library.  
  
"Oh, hey Ron, I heard you had plans with Hannah this weekend in Hogsmeade?" Hermione asked happily.  
  
"Oh, ya, I do, how'd you know?" Ron asked  
  
"Word gets around, anyway, that's great, she's a really nice person," Hermione said, sounding happy for Ron.  
  
"Ya, she is, actually I'm going downstairs to meet her now, so I'll be seeing you later then?" Ron asked, relieved that he didn't have to tell her.  
  
"Ok then, have fun," Hermione said and walked away.  
  
'That's a relief,' Ron thought, then he saw Hannah waiting for him at the foot of the staircases.  
  
"Hey," she said and ran up to kiss him.  
  
"H.." Ron began but decided the kiss was more important.  
  
"Come upstairs, I have something for you," Hannah said.  
  
"Er…ok," Ron said confused, knowing that the Hufflepuff common room was located in the dungeons.  
  
She pulled him up to the boys' bathroom. They began to kiss passionately.  
  
"Er…..Hannah, it's not that I'm unhappy with this surprise, but why did we have to do it in the bathroom," He asked confused.  
  
"Oh you'll see," Hannah said smirking. As she pulled him into one last kiss, she moved one of her hands lower.  
  
'Huh?' Ron thought, but he didn't want to interrupt, not that he could, because he was still in the kiss. She slowly began to unzip his pants. She moved his boxers out of the way. Hannah parted her lips from Ron's and lowered her mouth down to his manhood. She slowly began to suck him, at least she started out slow, than she went faster and faster, Ron was going crazy. He couldn't control himself anymore. He fell back against the wall, unable to support himself on his own two legs, because of what was happening in his body. Ron couldn't say anything, he did manage to let out a low moan. After a while, he found his voice, but the only word he could muster was a name.  
  
"Hermione………" he moaned.  
  
"What did you say?" Hannah asked, not looking angry but said. She knew exactly what he had said.  
  
"Oh, Hannah I'm so sorry, it was a mistake, please forgive me," Ron pleaded.  
  
"It's okay, Ron, I understand, I think I better leave now," Hannah said, getting up.  
  
"Hannah, wait!" Ron begged.  
  
"Really, Ron, don't worry about it, I'll see you tomorrow in Hogsmeade," Hannah declared. She kissed him on the cheek and went away.  
  
(The next day)  
  
Hannah and Ron had gotten into a private carriage together, and they rode off to Hogsmeade. They got off their carriage, and began walking to The Three Broomsticks, hand in hand. As they walked, Ron saw Hermione. She wasn't alone, she was with another person, a tall person. He was covered in black robes. Ron recognized the person immediately as his least favorite teacher, Professor Snape.   
  
A rush of jealousy surged through Ron, as he and Hannah walked into the bar. 'Why am I jealous? I have someone who loves me, but I don't think I could love her as much as she loves me. She such a nice person though, I could never hurt her and ruin her life. I could never make her life as bad as……as bad as mine. But then where will I turn? Harry has Ginny, I suspect Hermione has Snape, though I'm not sure of that. Either way, she doesn't love me. I can't continue seeing Hannah, but then I'll live my life alone. Then life could never be worth living….. I might as well end it now, before I hurt anyone else. Yes, I must, now, before it's too late.' Ron said to himself. He got up from his table.  
  
"Where are you going?" Hannah asked worriedly.  
  
"Oh, just to the bathroom," Ron said simply. He began to walk away, then he turned back.  
  
"Yes?" Hannah said, looking at his eyes.  
  
"Thank you, for all you've done for me, I really care about you, I'll be forever indebted to you," Ron said and he walked off to the bathroom, leaving a very confused Hannah.  
  
"Well, this is it," Ron said, he pointed his wand at his heart and muttered those fatal words, "Avada Kedavra!" a flash of green light hit him immediately on his heart. A bunch of pictures were flashing through his head. The life size wizard chest board from first year, finding the chamber of secrets, being pulled into the Shrieking Shack, watching the Triwizard Tournament, number twelve Grimmauld Place, making the Quidditch Team, choruses of Weasley Is Our King, Hermione helping him constantly with his homework, his love letter to her, making out with Hannah and saying goodbye. Then everything went black, it was all over, Ron was dead.  
  
(Back on the street)  
  
Hermione stopped dead in her tracks.  
  
"What's the matter, sweetheart?" Snape asked, looking concerned.  
  
"Something bad just happened, I just know it, I have to find my friends," Hermione said, her face getting white.  
  
"They're probably in The Three Broomsticks," Snape said, pulling her through the door.  
  
Sure enough, Harry and Ginny were at a table, kissing passionately, Hermione looked around. She spotted Hannah, sitting alone, almost in tears.  
  
"What's the matter? Where's Ron?" Hermione asked, sounding concerned.  
  
"It's Ron, he went into the bathroom almost half and hour ago, and he has yet to come out, and before he went in, he thanked me for all I've done for him, like he wouldn't see me again," Hannah said, silent tears falling down her face.  
  
"I'll go in and….." Snape began, but it was too late, Hermione had already ran into the boys' bathroom.  
  
Hermione ran over to where Ron was, she saw him laying down on the floor, cold, he drenched in his own blood. It didn't take someone of Hermione's intellect to conclude, he was dead. 'But how did he do it?' she thought, then she noticed his wand, tightly gripped in his hands. She picked it up and muttered and pointed her own wand at it and mutter "Prior incanto," a shot of blue light shot from her wand to his, and a shot of green light shot out of his wand. "Deletrius" she muttered, before the spell could hurt anyone else. She was sobbing. She didn't want to believe it, she couldn't believe it. She kept pointing her wand at him and saying "Enervate!" but it was no use. He was gone. Snape and Hannah ran in, with Harry and Ginny following close behind. They noticed Hermione crying and they looked down, they all immediately knew why. Before long, the entire room was in tears, except for Snape that is.  
  
"We'd better go," Snape advised. "We call Dumbledore here immediately, he'll know what to do with Ron," Snape said, one solitary tear went down his cheek and they all went out, except Hermione who wanted to stay a minute longer.  
  
"Why did you do it, Ron? You had people who cared about you, why did you kill yourself?" Hermione said, still sobbing. Then she noticed something in Ron's other hand. It was a letter. A letter addressed to "Miss Hermione Granger," Hermione opened the note, and began to read.  
  
A/N: did I cause anyone to cry? If I did, let me know, if not, wait until next chapter, which will be extremely short, just what Ron's letter says, but it'll be sweet. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks again to all my wonderful reviewers. If you haven't reviewed any chapter yet, review either this or the next one, I really want to know what you think of this latest big event. Chapter 10 should be up before the end of the day. 


	10. Love your best friend

Dear Hermione,  
  
I know what I did was selfish, but it was the only solution I could find to my problems. Perhaps, you should know what my problems were before you immediately blame yourself. My first problem is that I still love you, I've discovered that no matter what, I can't stop loving you. To me, life without you is a life without love. Which isn't a good life at all. About Hannah, I liked her, I really did, but while I was with her, I called her "Hermione", it was then that I realized that I'd just end up hurting her. I cared about her, so I couldn't do that. I was tired of causing vexation and pain to people in my life, and I was tired of getting hurt over and over again. Hermione I want you to promise that no matter what, you won't blame yourself for this, because I don't blame you. Every time I was with you, my life was suddenly worth living. You brought light into my life. I only wish I could have told you that to your face before I ended my life. It isn't good to dwell on the past, so focus on a future, you're a great person, Hermione, you can be anything you want to be, just go on and forget about me. Just always remember that no matter what, I'll always love you.  
  
Love your best friend forever,  
  
Ron  
  
A/N: short, I know, but I need tons of chapters, more chapters equal more readers and more readers equal more reviewers. Lol. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. By the way, I strongly suggest checking out the new up and coming author OnEaglesWings. She might not update as frequently, but her story "My Angel, My Only" is not to be overlooked! Especially for those who read HP/GW. That's all for now. I'll update tomorrow. 


	11. TELL ME!

It was the day after Ron's death and Hermione was walking through the corridors. Almost everyone else was outside, having snowball fights, not really caring about the shocking events of the day before. Hermione had cried herself to sleep last night and as she was walking now, she was in tears. 'How can my life get any worse?' she thought, heading back upstairs to her common room. Almost answering her question was the appearance of Draco Malfoy.  
  
"Mornin' Granger," he said evilly.  
  
"Move, Malfoy," she said, not very forcefully, as she was still sobbing.  
  
"Not so fast, Granger, how about we make a little deal?" Draco said slyly.  
  
"What do you want?" Hermione spat.  
  
"Just tell me, yes or no, are you currently seeing Professor Severus Snape?" Draco asked smirking.  
  
"That's none of your business!" Hermione said and started to walk away.  
  
"Either tell me now, or I'll have to force it out of you," Draco said, anger rising.  
  
"Do what you must!" Hermione snarled, immediately regretting it. Draco had pulled her close to him, she was struggling to get out of his grip. It was no use, he was much to strong.  
  
"One last chance, you filthy mud blood! TELL ME!!!" Draco bellowed.  
  
"NEVER!" Hermione screamed.  
  
"Then you leave me no choice!" he spat. He opened the door to a nearby closet, and shoved her in. He himself walked in next, shutting the door, pointing his wand at the door. "Collopartus!" he yelled, and the door clicked, signaling that it was locked.  
  
"What are you doing?" Hermione asked, her voice shaking. She wasn't nervous, she was scared.  
  
"Oh, trust me, you'll see, Incendio Tria!" Draco shouted. All of Hermione's clothes were burnt off. She knew what he was doing.   
  
Hermione reached for her wand. 'If I could just disarm him!' she thought.  
  
"IMMOBULUS! No, no, Granger, there'll be none of that," Draco explained. Hermione was frozen. With one swish of his wand, Draco removed his own clothes. He pulled Hermione faced up to his own and pushed his lips against hers. He forced her mouth open with his tongue and slid it in her mouth. His wand was in one hand, and he forcefully shoved his free hand into her. He parted his lips from hers and began to kiss all the way down her body. Hermione knew what he was going to do next.  
  
'He's going to shove himself into me, what can I do?' she thought. She looked around, there was no solution to get a girl who's body was frozen out of the situation she was in now. Draco was getting closer and closer to push himself into her. She couldn't stop him. He was inches away from her. Just then a breeze ran through the room. Hermione's mind was taken off what was about to happen to her. 'That's odd, where's the breeze coming from, there's no window in here,' she thought looking around the room. Draco was less than an inch away from her now.  
  
"Ready to tell yet, Granger?" he snarled.  
  
"Ok, ok, it's true. Snape and I are…..are dating," Hermione responded through sobs.  
  
"I knew it! Well, I've got all the proof I need now, but I suppose my work isn't quite finished here, yet," Draco said grinning. He began moving closer to Hermione again. Hermione looked away. She saw above her head, the source of the breeze earlier. It was a silvery figure, in the shape of a person. Hermione immediately recognized the ghostly figure as Ron. Ron's ghost was beginning to change shape. It was turning into a lion!   
  
"LEAVE HER ALONE!!" the lion (Ron) yelled. Draco turned around and the color was drained from his face.  
  
"What are you?" Draco asked nervously.  
  
"YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE!!" the lion yelled.  
  
"What are you going to do if I don't stop?" Draco asked. The lion didn't answer, he started charging at Draco. Draco ran out of the room as fast as he could.  
  
"Thank you so much, Ron," Hermione said.  
  
"That's what best friends do!" Ron stated simply. "But my time grows short here, I must leave now, but I think you'll find, I will be around whenever you need me most," he stated, he tried to kiss Hermione on the cheek with his ghostly lips, then he faded away.  
  
Hermione just sat there in the dark closet. Constantly on the verge of tears. Always finding the strength to fight them back. Hermione just walked out of the room and ran into Harry and Ginny walking down the hall. Ginny was crying into Harry's shoulder. Harry had his arm around her, silent tears were running down his face.  
  
"What were you doing in there?" Harry asked, gesturing to the closet.  
  
Hermione explained the whole story to her two friends. She lost all her strength, and she burst into tears.  
  
"You and Snape?!" Harry asked, more than a little surprised.  
  
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you two," she said.  
  
"Well, at least you were strong and didn't tell Malfoy," Harry pointed out.  
  
"Oh, Harry, I did! What do I do?" Hermione asked nervously. She burst into tears again. Harry offered her his other shoulder. She took it graciously and began to cry. Harry began to lead them downstairs.  
  
"Where are we going?" Hermione asked between sobs.  
  
"We're going straight to Professor Snape!" Harry said firmly. Draco Malfoy was walking back upstairs.  
  
"Which of these two girls are you fucking this week, Potter?" Draco asked, a smirk spreading across his face. Harry face was turning red with rage. "What's wrong, Potter? Is your scare bothering you again?" Draco teased.   
  
Harry's wand was at the ready. "STUPEFY!" he yelled. Draco fell to the ground with a "thud".  
  
"Great job Harry!" Ginny said, leaning over to kiss him. "Why are we going back downstairs?" she asked. Through her sobs, she hadn't heard Harry.  
  
"To go and see Professor Snape!" Harry replied confidently.   
  
They walked down the hall to Snape's office. Harry knocked on the door.   
  
Snape came out. "What's all this?" He snarled.  
  
A/N: well, that's all for now. Thanks to all my reviewers. I'll try and update tomorrow! I hope you liked it! 


	12. YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THE LAST OF THE MALFOY...

A/N: Brandy: I'm so sorry!!! I felt awful when I read your review. I was going to send you an e-mail apologizing, but my friend said a public apology in my next chapter we be better. I didn't mean to offend you. Don't worry, the rape stuff is done. Sorry to any1 whom I offended through last chapter's rape!  
  
"What's all this?" Snape snarled.  
  
"Professor Snape, Hermione had been attacked," Harry said, nodding to Hermione who was still crying on his shoulder.  
  
"Attacked? By whom?" Snape asked, a look of concern spreading across his face.  
  
"Draco Malfoy, sir," Harry said.  
  
"Thank you, Mr. Potter, you take Miss Weasley back to your common room. I'll take care of everything from here," Snape said, putting his arm over Hermione's shoulder and guiding her through his office door.  
  
"Thank you, Professor," Harry said, taking Ginny back upstairs.  
  
"What happened?" Snape said, sitting Hermione down and taking a seat right next to her.  
  
"Draco said, that if I didn't tell him whether or not we were dating, he would have to force it out of me," Hermione said, her tears letting up slightly.  
  
"Then what happened?" Snape asked kindly.  
  
"I refused to tell him, he threw me into the closet, and that's when he….he…." Hermione couldn't finish, she was in tears again.  
  
"How did you manage to escape?" Snape asked concernedly.  
  
"R-Ron saved me, I saw his ghost take the shape of a lion, and the lion charged at Malfoy and he ran away," Hermione said.  
  
"I see, but, tell me this, did Mr. Malfoy ever find out about…..you and me?" Snape asked, sounding the slightest bit nervous. There was no need for Hermione to answer, her new tears told it all. Snape put his other arm around her and rocked her gently. He kissed her on the cheek.  
  
"Just before Ron showed up, he…..he forced it out of me," Hermione said through tears.  
  
"Well, don't worry, somehow, it'll be okay," Snape assured her. "We better go and see Dumbledore," he declared. He picked her up and carried her off. They reached Dumbledore's office and Snape said, "Pumpkin Pastie" and the spiral staircase began moving up.  
  
"Good afternoon Severus, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said smiling.  
  
"Not really, Professor," Snape said politely, "Hermione has been attacked," He said. The smile faded from Dumbledore's face as Hermione tried to explain as best she could the events of the morning.  
  
"Phineas, go to Minerva McGonagall's office, and tell her to bring Mr. Draco Malfoy back here," Professor Dumbledore asked the portrait of former headmaster, Phineas Nigellus.  
  
"Certainly, sir," said Phinaes, eager to see how things were going to turn out. Within a few minutes, Draco Malfoy had turned up, Professor McGonagall was at his heels.  
  
"Why am I being called to you office, Professor Dumbledore?" Draco asked innocently.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, is it true, that you have caused some physical harm to Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked, remaining calm.  
  
"No, sir, I've been in my common room all day studying, sir," Draco lied politely.  
  
"LIAR!!" a portrait shouted, Hermione recognized it as the previous Headmaster Dippet.  
  
"How to hell would you know?" Draco yelled at the portrait.  
  
"I saw you this morning, Malfoy! You pulled this young lady into the closet and locked her in there for quite sometime," Dippet said. For once in his life, Malfoy had nothing to say. He couldn't deny it now, he knew Dumbledore would take Dippet's word over his own.  
  
"Professor Snape, do you perhaps have a bottle of Veritarserum with you?" Dumbledore asked, still calm.  
  
"Yes, sir, right with me. Drink up Malfoy!" Snape commanded, handing Draco a small glass of the orange potion. Draco reluctantly swallowed it.   
  
"Did you or did you not attack Miss Granger this morning?" Dumbledore demanded.  
  
"I…..I….did," Draco spat.  
  
"I see, well, we'll have no choice but to expel you from Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please surrender to me you wand," Dumbledore said.  
  
"NEVER!!" Draco yelled. He attempted to run out of the room.  
  
"IMPEDIMENTA!!!" McGonagall yelled. Malfoy was stopped dead in his tracks. Snape ran up to him and grabbed his wand.  
  
"Severus, if you don't mind, please destroy Mr. Malfoy's wand," Dumbledore said.  
  
"With pleasure! REDUCTO!!!" Snape yelled. Draco's wand was reduced to nothing more than a pile of dust. Dumbledore took out a sheet of parchment and began to write something down.  
  
"His parents will be notified immediately," Dumbledore said, rolling up the parchment and placing it in Fawkes' beak. "Fawkes, please take this to the Malfoy Manor," Dumbledore instructed. Fawkes nodded and disappeared. "Miss Granger, I suggest that you leave immediately, before Lucious arrives," Dumbledore instructed. Hermione nodded, but it was too late. Lucious had just appeared in Dumbledore's fire.  
  
"What to hell is this about my son being expelled?!" Lucious bellowed. "Just for attacking some filthy mudblood? Filthy thing probably desired it, simply for the reason of being a mudblood," Lucious exclaimed.  
  
"Lucious, I will not allow you to insult my students…." Dumbledore began, but he was cut off by Lucious.  
  
"Oh, SHUT UP!!! I'm tired of you muggle loving ways. I hate that you've contaminated the school which I've chosen for my son to attend with common filth!" Lucious roared.  
  
"How dare you talk to Albus Dumbledore that way!" McGonagall yelled.  
  
"We don't need this school, with all the money and power my I have, we could buy this dump!" Lucious bellowed.  
  
"Not while I'm alive, I can assure you that much," Dumbledore said, slightly angry.  
  
"Well, I'll send my son to a better wizarding school," Lucious said.  
  
"Do what you want, be he won't do well there," Dumbledore explained.  
  
"What makes you so sure of that?" Lucious spat.  
  
"His wand has been destroyed," Snape cut in.  
  
Lucious couldn't respond. He was much too angry. He just grabbed his son and pulled him to the fire and finally he said, "YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THE LAST OF THE MALFOY FAMILY!!!" and I with a flash of green flame, he was gone.  
  
"I'm sorry you had to witness that, Miss Granger, Severus, would you please take Hermione away," Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Certainly," Snape said. He placed his arm over her shoulder and walked away. He didn't bring her back to the Gryffindor tower, he brought he back into his office, in order to console her more. He just kept his arm around her a let her cry. She finally stopped, sometime later. She just looked at Snape for a while, then she pulled him into a long, passionate kiss.  
  
"How sweet!" Lavender exclaimed from the hallway.  
  
"Very, but I feel terrible about the whole ordeal between her and Malfoy, Draco's dad seemed really upset, do you think he meant what he said?" Parviti asked.  
  
"I wouldn't put it past him, the Malfoy's would do anything to regain their honor," Lavender explained.  
  
"Lets leave them alone," Parviti suggested.  
  
"We'll go back to the common room," Lavender agreed. The two girls ran off.  
  
"Severus?" Hermione said, breaking the kiss.  
  
"Yes, sweetheart?" Snape answered.  
  
"I love you," she said.  
  
"I…..I…..I….." Snape began.  
  
"What's the matter?" Hermione said, tears forming in her eyes.  
  
"Nothing, really, it's just that….." Snape started.  
  
"What? You can tell me anything," Hermione assured him.  
  
"It's just that no one has ever said that to me before," Snape explained sadly.  
  
"Well, forget the past, I'm telling you right now, that I love you, more than anything," Hermione repeated.  
  
"I….I love too," Snape said. He pulled her into another kiss.  
  
A/N: how very romantic! Ugh, what about the Malfoys? What do you think they have planned? Please write any ideas in a review! 3 more reviews and I'll have 50! How exciting! Thanks to all my reviewers! 


	13. Poor old Mr Ollivander

**The Daily Prophet  
**  
Ollivander's Wand Shop Intruded. Ollivander Left Dead.

_At approximately midnight last night, much after Ollivander's wand shop was closed, two masked strangers smashed down the door and went in. Mr. Ollivander heard some loud noises in his shop and went in to see what was the matter. Upon being seen, Mr. Ollivander was shot with the "Avada Cadavra" curse by one of the two intruders. When Ministry officials arrived, they found that at least a dozen wands had been stolen. The one eye witness, Daedulus Diggle, gave his account of what happened. He had this to say, "There we two men, one no older than sixteen, and one adult. The younger one appeared to be without a wand." When asked to give a description of the two intruders, Mr. Diggle explained that they were both covered in long, black cloaks. By the time the two intruders left, Mr. Diggle went to see what had become of the wand shop. When he saw Ollivander, lying dead, he left to contact the Ministry immediately._  
  
"It's too bad about Mr. Ollivander, eh?" Harry said at breakfast, putting down a copy of The Daily Prophet. It was the day after Draco's expulsion.  
  
"Don't you see, Harry? It's obvious who did it!" Hermione exclaimed.  
  
"I'm not following," Harry said.  
  
"This damage was obviously caused by Lucious and Draco Malfoy! All the evidence points towards them!" Hermione explained.  
  
"But there was no evidence….." Harry began.  
  
"None that they could see! But look deeper into it! A sixteen year old boy, and older man. A description that perfectly fits Lucious and Draco. Plus, you should've seen Lucious when he heard that his son's wand was destroyed, he knew it was impossible to have it replace, legally anyway. Which is why they had to break in to the wand shop. And notice that it says the teenager appeared to be without a wand! Also, who else would besides the Malfoys would break in to an old man's shop, and kill him just to steal wands. It couldn't haven been Voldemort!" Hermione explained.  
  
"You're right!" Harry said unnecessarily.  
  
"But if word gets out, you'll both suffer the same fate as poor old Mr. Ollivander," said a dark voice that belonged to Blaise Zabini.  
  
"What do you want, Blaise?" Harry spat.  
  
"Oh, just coming over to tell the mudblood that she had better watch her back. Ever since Malfoy was expelled, everyone in Slytherin wants to see her dead. Lucky for you, I'm a pretty nice guy, so I'll tell you about these plans, and the most people are leaving for Christmas break tomorrow, giving you more time to hide," Blaise said and he walked away, laughing with that evil laugh of his.  
  
Harry went to go after him, his wand at the ready. "Don't bother, they're not worth it," Hermione said firmly.  
  
"But Hermione, you heard him! They're going to try and kill you!" Harry said angrily  
  
"But you killing them won't help any! We'll be safe, we'll be able to beat them," Hermione said confidently.  
  
"Yes, I suppose you're right," Harry admitted reluctantly. "By the way, where are you spending Christmas break?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know, I suppose I'll just stay here," Hermione said sadly.  
  
"Nonsense! You're coming to the Burrow, as is Harry," Ginny explained, just walking in.  
  
"But what about you're parents?" Harry asked.  
  
"Oh, they'll be fine with it! I just got a letter saying so from mum," Ginny explained.  
  
"Are you sure that's a good idea? You know, with Ron, and me……." Hermione began.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous! Stop blaming yourself! It wasn't you fault! Ron had a lot of problems, and he wouldn't want you to take the blame for them," Ginny said strongly. This was the first time Harry had seen Ginny talk about Ron without crying.  
  
"Er…..ok then," Hermione said. Harry and Ginny began snogging and Hermione decided it was best to walk away then. She was headed towards the staff table, to show Snape the Daily Prophet.  
  
"Well, that's to be expected when it comes to matters dealing with the Malfoys," Snape said darkly as he finished reading the paper.  
  
"But do you think Draco told his father about…..us?" Hermione asked nervously.  
  
"I'm certain of it, but of course, Lucious wouldn't believe something like this, without proof. He has no way of getting it, since we'll be in the school," Snape explained, sounding happier. Hermione kissed him on the cheek.  
  
"If he's gone, we don't really have to hide anything anymore, do we?" Hermione asked, looking at Snape's eyes.  
  
"No, I don't suppose we do," Snape said, pulling her into a kiss. "Anyway, you're spending Christmas here, aren't you? I did want to spend Christmas with you," Snape said.  
  
'Uh-oh,' Hermione thought. 'I completely forgot about spending Christmas with Severus! But I have to, I'll just have to tell Ginny that I can't go to the Burrow this year,' Hermione thought.  
  
"You are staying here, aren't you?" Snape repeated.  
  
"Yes of course!" Hermione said, sliding her arms around Snape's neck and kissing him.  
  
"Oh, no we have no one to spy on, if they're going to make it public," Lavender whined, watching Snape and Hermione kiss.  
  
"Well, we could still watch them when they're alone. That's obviously when all the good stuff happens anyway," Parviti pointed out.  
  
"You're right, I hope they'll both be here for Christmas, that should be great," Lavender said hopefully.  
  
"I doubt Hermione would be able to stay away from Snape that long anyway," Parviti pointed out.  
  
"What do you mean, Hermione and Snape?" said a high, shrill voice that belonged to Pansy Parkinson.   
  
"No one was talking to you, get out of here," Lavender yelled.  
  
"Ha! I knew it! That just what Draco was about to tell me, before that filthy mudblood had him expelled. Well, Mr. Malfoy won't stand for that, let me tell you right now!" Pansy said triumphantly.  
  
"Go to hell, Parkinson! Leave Hermione and Snape alone!" Parviti ordered.  
  
"Who's going to make me?" Pansy asked.  
  
"EXPELLIARMUS!!!!!" Lavender bellowed, answering Pansy's question. Pansy was sent flying across the Great Hall, her wand flying into the chest of an unsuspecting Ravenclaw. Pansy immediately stood up and ran over to her wand.  
  
"STUP….." she began, but her incantation was interrupted.   
  
"MISS BROWN! MISS PARKINSON! How dare you! Five points from each of your houses and both of you will serve detention when you get back from Christmas break." McGonagall barked. While they were off getting in trouble, the Slytherins were all watching the strange couple, Severus Snape and Hermione Granger, who were still kissing passionately, Hermione was now sitting on his lap.  
  
"Well, well, well, seems our dear house head is gallivanting with mudbloods. Seems this is what Draco wanted to tell us all before his expulsion. We certainly can't stand for this, can we?" Blaise asked, facing the other Slytherins. There was a murmur of shouts and "no's" from the table.   
  
Hermione had just stood up, her and Snape exchanged their "I love you," she kissed him on the cheek and walked a way. There was a series of "boo's" and jeers from the Slytherin table. Snape walked over to them.  
  
"What goes on in one's personal life doesn't concern any of you! Twenty points will be deducted from Slytherin and I don't want to hear another word about it!" Snape yelled.  
  
"Face it, Snape, she's below you! She's filth! She's scum! How could you actually kiss that…..that common hooker?!" Blaise demanded.  
  
Snape face twisted with rage. "MR. ZABINI! HOW DARE YOU TALK LIKE THAT ABOUT ANOTHER STUDENT, SIMPLY BECAUSE THIS STUDENT IS FROM A DIFFERENT FAMILY? YOU WILL HAVE DETENTION THE DAY YOU GET BACK FROM YOU BREAK, IS THAT CLEAR?!" Snape bellowed, the whole Great Hall was staring at Snape and Blaise.  
  
"I'M TELLING THE TRUTH!!!!" Blaise yelled.  
  
"Come with me to the Headmaster's office, now!" Snape yelled.  
  
"Ya right! I'm out of here!" Blaise yelled. He exited the Great Hall. Snape ran after him, but by the time Snape had reached the doors of the Great Hall, Blaise was outside. Snape continued to chase after him, but it was no use. Blaise was out of Hogwarts' grounds. He shot red sparks out of the tip of his wand and within seconds, The Knight Bus arrived. Blaise stepped on and he was gone.  
  
"What just happened, Severus?" Hermione asked from behind him. She had seen the whole thing.  
  
"Nothing, sweetheart, lets go back inside," Snape said. He hugged her and they walked back to the school, hand in hand.   
  
A/N: well, it looks like a load of trouble awaits our couple, as the entire house of Slytherin is upset about it. What plans do the Malfoys have the required them to steal wands and kill someone? Perhaps Snape and Hermione shouldn't make their relationship public, hmm??? Well, give any thoughts, suggestions, and or criticisms in a review or e-mail. By the way, thanks to all my reviewers, I've achieved not 50 reviews but 52! Thanks a lot! 


	14. I told you father!

A/N: m and duck claim that chapters 12-13 have been getting boring! They want excitement? Well, I'm going to write a chapter 14 to rock everyone's socks! Enjoy!  
  
It was the day that people were leaving for Christmas break. The train was about to leave soon, yet Hermione was still asleep.  
  
"HERMIONE!!!! WAKE UP!!!!" Ginny said, shaking Hermione awake.  
  
"W…..What? Why?" Hermione asked groggily.   
  
"You're going to miss the train! It leaves in fifteen minutes and you haven't even started packing!" Ginny yelled, pulling her out of bed.  
  
"Oh, didn't I tell you? I've decided to stay here for Christmas, I've got some things that I'd like to do here," Hermione explained.  
  
"But…..But what could you want to do here?" Ginny asked sadly.  
  
"Oh you know, this and that. Besides, without me there, you'll have more time to spend with Harry," Hermione pointed out.  
  
"Oh, I get it, you want to spend time with Snape!" Ginny sad, her frown turning into a smirk.  
  
"Well, that is the general idea, so have a nice Christmas, Ginny," Hermione said grinning.  
  
"Okay, but you be careful, most of the Slytherins are still here, but have fun," Ginny said, hugging Hermione and walking away.  
  
Hermione spent most of the day reading, she hadn't planned to meet Severus until the evening. She intended to spend any time away from Severus inside the Gryffindor towers. She did want to avoid the Slytherins. Just then, an owl flew in an open window, and hit Hermione right in the face.  
  
'That was odd, it seems to be in perfect condition, yet it hit me,' Hermione thought. She noticed that there was a red envelope in it's beak. "A howler," she whispered. 'Who would send me a howler?' she wondered. Just as she was about to open it, it exploded.  
  
Then a high, loud, cold voice said, "STICK TO YOUR OWN KIND, MUDBLOOD!" then it burst into flames. Just then it hit Hermione, the owl had been told to hit her in the face.   
  
'Who could it have been? It didn't sound like a student. But it could have been a voice modifying charm……" she thought. Then a she recognized the owl as it was flying away, she was able to classify it as a black eagle owl. "Malfoy" she said loudly. Whether it was Draco or Lucious she couldn't say, but she knew it was a Malfoy. It was just about time for dinner, so Hermione started walking down to the Great Hall. She noticed that all the students were seated at one table. Then she saw an empty seat next to Severus, she quickly went down to sit with him. He kissed her on the cheek, and they started their supper.   
  
Towards the end of their meal, Dumbledore came over and asked, "Miss Granger, when Mr. Malfoy attacked you, did he state a reason?"  
  
"Er….yes, he wanted to get some information from me," she said, hoping to avoid identifying what information.  
  
"What information exactly?" Dumbledore asked, a puzzled look on his face.  
  
"Er……." Hermione began nervously.  
  
"Don't worry about it, you can tell me anything," Dumbledore assured her.  
  
"Whether or not…….Whether or not Severus…" She began.  
  
"Professor Snape," Dumbledore corrected.  
  
"Right, whether or not Professor Snape and I were…..d-dating," Hermione began nervously.  
  
"I see, and it's common knowledge that you are, so tell, did he ever get the information from you?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Yes, sir he did," Hermione said, tears coming to her eyes.  
  
"I see, well, I'm sorry to say this, but you are going to have to employ extreme caution when walking around the school. I would suggest always remaining with another pupil," Dumbledore told her.  
  
"I'll be able to do it, Albus," Snape said, looking at Hermione.  
  
"Thank you, Severus," Dumbledore said and walked away.  
  
"Shall we walk down to the my office, then?" Snape offered.  
  
"Though you'd never ask!" Hermione replied, forcing a smile.  
  
They got up out of their seats and walked out of the Great Hall. Snape had just taken Hermione's hand when she gasped.   
  
"What is it?" Snape asked concernedly. She didn't answer, she was just looking over to the doors to the school, with her hand over her mouth. Snape had looked over to where she was looking and he too gasped.  
  
On the wall, in what appeared to be blood was written, "THE MUDBLOOD GRANGER, ENEMY TO ALL WIZARD KIND, AND SEVERUS SNAPE, DISGRACE TO THE NAME OF WIZARD, BEWARE, YOUR DEMISE IS NEAR!"  
  
Hermione almost fainted. She began to fall over, but Snape had caught her just in time.  
  
"Who's doing this, Severus?" Hermione asked.  
  
"That's a very good question, Miss Granger, one which I personally intend to find the answer to," Dumbledore said, and walked away.  
  
"Wait! Professor Dumbledore, there's something else too….." Hermione explained.  
  
"What is it?" Dumbledore asked concernedly. Snape turned to look at her, his eyes full of concern as well. Hermione explained to them about the howler.  
  
"Did you recognize the owl?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Yes, I'm almost certain it was Malfoy's owl," Hermione stated. "But whether or it was Draco's or Lucious's voice, I couldn't say,"  
  
"Well, they left together, I guess that means it's time we got ready for our spying," Lavender said excitedly back in the Great Hall.  
  
Lavender and Parviti pointed their wands at each other and yelled "Dillusionment!" in unison, and soon, both girls were human chameleons, virtually impossible to be noticed. They walked out into the foyer and noticed the what was written on the wall, and Hermione in Snape's arms. Dumbledore was walking back upstairs.  
  
"Oh God," Lavender gasped  
  
"Who would do such a thing?" Parviti asked.  
  
"Well, either a Slytherin or a Death Eater, who broke into the school," Lavender declared.  
  
"Whoever it is, it's our duty to find out who it is and defeat them! The fate of Snape and Hermione rests in our hands!" Parviti declared bravely.  
  
"Well, we better get down to Snape's office, and keep an eye out for anything suspicious!" Lavender said, heading over to the staircase.  
  
Snape and Hermione were already in there.  
  
"Rest a while, you've had a scary day," Snape said, rubbing Hermione's back.  
  
"No, no, I'm not going to let something so ridiculous interfere with our night," Hermione said firmly.  
  
"Are you sure?" Snape asked.  
  
"I'm positive," Hermione said and kissed Snape on the cheek. Before she was able to bring her head all the way back, Snape put his hand over Hermione's cheek, and pulled her into a deep kiss.  
  
"Who ever knew that Snape could be so romantic?" Lavender asked from out in the hall.  
  
Snape began to take off Hermione robes, and Hermione did the same to him. Snape began to kiss every inch of her skin, as it was revealed.  
  
"See father, I told you!" an invisible voice yelled.  
  
"Parviti? Was that you?" Lavender asked nervously.  
  
"No, I thought it was you," Parviti said, her voice shaking.  
  
"I don't think we're alone, Parviti," Lavender suggested.  
  
"Who's there?" a deeper voice called.  
  
"We might ask you the same question!" Lavender said trying to sound brave, though her voice was shaking.  
  
"I'll see who it is, Lavender. Finite!" Parviti yelled, pointing her wand in a random direction. Nothing happened.  
  
"Together!" Lavender yelled.  
  
"FINITE!!!" both girls yelled in unison. Lavender was the one who hit a person. A tall man, with the same whitish blond hair as Draco Malfoy appeared. It was Lucious Malfoy.  
  
"FINITE!!!" Parviti yelled again, this time, revealing Draco Malfoy.  
  
"Bravo, girls, you've discovered us, now what do you intend to do?" Lucious asked, smirking.  
  
"FINITE!!!" Lucious and Draci yelled in unison, they didn't have to shoot twice, Lavender and Parviti were made visible again.  
  
"YOU!!!" Lavender yelled.  
  
"Us indeed, my dear girl," Lucious said.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Parviti spat.  
  
"Grown up matters don't concern little girls, go play with a doll or something," Draco mocked.  
  
"STUPEFY!" Lavender yelled, aiming her wand at Draco.  
  
"PROTEGO!" Draco yelled, just before the spell hit him. Lavender's spell bounced right off of him, and hit Lavender in the chest, forcing her to the ground.  
  
"One girl down, one to go!" Lucious laughed.  
  
"You know, as soon as you leave, we are going to go report you both to Professor Dumbledore!" Parviti snarled.  
  
"Dumbledore? Ha! That old bat? He couldn't keep me out of Azkaban, he couldn't keep me from killing Ollivander and stealing wands, and he won't keep me from taking the lives of both you and your pathetic friend here!" Lucious laughed. Lavender was just getting to her feet.  
  
"Not so fast, Brown, CRUCIO!!!" Draco yelled. Lavender fell back down in pain.  
  
"LEAVE HER ALONE!!!!" Parviti yelled.  
  
"Just as soon as she screams!" Draco said.  
  
"NEVER!!!" Lavender yelled out, immediately regretting it, as it caused her to cringe in pain.  
  
"What's going on outside?" Hermione asked reluctantly, lying on the ground next to Snape, who was yet again spreading kisses all over her body.  
  
"Oh, nothing major I would assume, students hold their duels here all the time," Snape explained simply, and went right back to his work.  
  
"I love you," Hermione moaned.  
  
"I love you too," Snape said, pressing his lips against hers.  
  
"Lavender, just scream! It's not worth it!" Parviti said crying.  
  
"Yes it is!" Lavender said, again cringing in pain.  
  
"TARENTELLEGRA!!!" Parviti yelled, pointing her wand at Draco. It was the only spell she could think of, but it worked. Lavender was freed from his spell, and slowly got up. Draco's feet were going crazy.  
  
"Finite!" Lucious yelled, pointing his wand at his son, Parviti's spell was stopped.  
  
"Avada Kedavra!" Draco yelled, pointing his wand at Parviti. She immediately fell to the ground.  
  
"NO!!!!!!" Lavender cried, kneeling down next to her best friend's body. She got up, hatred was in her eyes. "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!!" she yelled, Lucious Malfoy fell to the ground, stiff as a board.  
  
"Fin…." Draco began, but his wand had flown out of his hand because of a disarming spell Lavender had just used.  
  
"Not so fast, Malfoy. REDUCTO!!!" Lavender yelled, pointing he wand at Draco's knee. There was a huge smashing sound. Lavender had smashed Draco's knee. "DIFFINDO!" she yelled, pointing her wand at Draco's, it was immediately cut in two separate pieces.  
  
Back in Snape's office……  
  
"Severus, are you sure there's nothing going on out there?" Hermione asked again.  
  
"If it would make you feel better, we could go check," Snape said, kissing her hand.  
  
"Thank you," she said.  
  
"Anything, for you," he said smiling. He waved his wand, and they were both fully clothed again. They got up and began walking to the door.  
  
Parviti had gotten up. She was alive! She looked around for her wand, it wasn't there.  
  
Draco must've used some type of wandless magic, because he had Parviti's wand in his wand, he was sitting next to his petrified father, blood was virtually flooding out of his knee.  
  
"Finite!" Draco yelled, pointing Parviti's wand at Lucious. He had gotten up and immediately looked over to Parviti.  
  
"Foolish boy! You obviously can't even operate a killing curse correctly!" Lucious spat.  
  
"What did I do wrong?" Draco asked confusedly.  
  
"You have to want to kill her, you have to focus all your hatred at her! You obviously didn't!" Lucious snarled. Parviti got up. "Where do you think you're going little girl?" Lucious asked mockingly. Parviti didn't answer. She just walked over to Draco and she kicked him! Right in his manhood. He yelled in pain and let threw Parviti's wand. She caught it.  
  
"Get out!" Parviti screamed.  
  
"Like we're afraid of a little girl!" Lucious laughed. His wand at the ready.  
  
"Are you afraid of me?" Dumbledore asked, walking down the stairs, Lavender at his heels.  
  
"What about me?" Snape asked, walking out of his room. Hermione was right behind him and gasped at what was happening around her.  
  
"I fear no one but the Dark Lord!" Lucious said firmly. "Speaking of which, you should fear him too, after he finds out what you've been doing with this filthy little mudblood!" Lucious said to Snape. Then Lucious nudged Draco.  
  
"IMPEDIMENTA!!" they yelled in unison. Draco had frozen Snape and Lucious had frozen Dumbledore.  
  
"Lets get out of here!" Lucious commanded. They both ran up the stairs. "Oh, and Dumbledore, don't worry about my son's broken wand, I daresay we have enough to last us quite a while!" Lucious said and laughed until he reached the door. Snape and Dumbledore were able to move again, and they both ran for the door. They were outside just in time to see Draco and Lucious fly away.  
  
"What happened?" Hermione asked as Snape and Dumbledore walked back in. Lavender and Parviti were right behind her.  
  
"They flew away," Snape said bitterly. They all sighed.  
  
"Fifty points will be awarded to both Miss Patil and Miss Brown for their outstanding courage!" Dumbledore said, trying to force the conversation into a happier direction.  
  
"Yes, thank you, but how did you know they were there?" Hermione asked.  
  
Parviti gulped. "Well, ever since Lavender and I told you that you and Snape would make a good couple, we've been following you to see if anything would come of our prediction," Parviti explained.  
  
"How could you ever do that without getting caught?" Snape asked suspiciously.  
  
"Dillusionment Charm," Lavender confessed.  
  
"Well, thank you, you could've very well saved our lives while sacrificing your own," Snape said.  
  
"I suggest you all go to bed, girls. Use the utmost caution on your way upstairs though," Dumbledore said, ushering the girls upstairs. Hermione and Snape kissed each other good night and went their separate ways.  
  
They made it up to the second floor when they were stopped by a Slytherin boy. "Well, well, well, it seems as though the Malfoys' plans were foiled again, because of two Gryffindors," Blaise Zabini said.  
  
"Get out of here, Blaise!" Parviti yelled.  
  
"Someone has a bit of a temper, tut, tut, that won't do," Blaise said, seizing Parviti by the arm.  
  
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Hermione yelled, Blaise hand was removed from Parviti's arm and he became stiff as a board.  
  
"We're totally just going to leave him here, right?" Lavender asked.  
  
"You bet!" Hermione said happily, leading the way further upstairs.  
  
A/N: lets see duck and m complain about this! 2,383 words of pure action! I hope you all enjoy it, please review! Thanks again to all my reviewers! 


	15. Lavender's countercurse

"My Lord, I think we might have some information that I think you might find most interesting," Lucious said, bowing in front of Voldemort.  
  
"Well, it's about time, you've done nothing significant in months! Now what is this ever so important information that you're bothering me with?" the deep, cold voice of Voldemort yelled.  
  
"Severus Snape……" Lucious began.  
  
"Oh, yes, Severus, my faithful servent and spy at Hogwarts, what has he done now?" Voldemort asked excitedly.  
  
"Faithful servent nothing!" Draco yelled. His father glared at him.  
  
"SILENCE!!! You will only speak when spoken to! Now I must teach you a lesson! CRUCIO!" Voldemort shrieked. Draco fell on the ground, squirming in pain.  
  
"You were saying, Lucious?" Voldemort asked, lifting the spell from Draco.  
  
"Severus Snape is not the person you think he is. He is a betrayer! He doesn't spy for us, he spies for them! Aside from that, he is currently dating a mudblood student of Gryffindor!" Lucious explained.  
  
"WHAT?! What proof do you have of this?" Voldemort asked angrily.  
  
"My son and I saw it ourselves, it's become common knowledge in the entire school," Lucious explained cautiously.  
  
"AAAARGH!!!!!" Voldemort yelled, red sparks flew out of the tip of his wand.  
  
"My Lord……" Lucious began.  
  
"SILENCE!!! The traitor must be taught a lesson! Surely your son has been doing plenty of damage at school?" Voldemort asked eyeing Draco.  
  
"I couldn't my Lord, I've been expelled for attacking the mudblood" Draco explained.  
  
"Well, at least you've left you're mark. But we must do something about the traitor! We'll summon him here, and first we'll torture him, then we'll end his useless life!" Voldemort promised, turning away angrily. "Is there anyway that we could torture the filthy mudblood from inside the school?"   
  
"No my Lord, we'd have to……." Lucious began.  
  
"Yes there is, my Lord," Draco cut in.  
  
"Oh really? What is that?" Voldemort asked, sounding interested.  
  
"Nearly every Slytherin is upset about Snape and that scum he's seeing, so it would be quite easy to have one attack her," Draco explained.  
  
"Excellent!" Voldemort screamed. "Now be gone!" Voldemort yelled, shooting flame from his wand towards the Malfoys. 'Perhaps I'm doing this wrong, perhaps we should go to Snape, catch him in the act again, then we'll see how if he can lie his way out of that!' Voldemort thought. "Lucious! Draco! Not so fast!" Voldemort yelled, pulling them back with his wand. He explained his new plan to them.  
  
"Harry? What's the matter?" Ginny asked worriedly, breaking a kiss with him.  
  
"It's my scar, it's killing me," Harry said. "I feel like I could collapse."  
  
"Harry, what's he feeling? What's going on?" Ginny asked nervously.  
  
"He's just found something out, he's angry!" Harry said urgently. "Wait, now he's happy, he's just found a solution to his problem," Harry said.  
  
"Harry, you do think this has anything to do with the Malfoys, telling Voldemort about what Snape and Hermione," Ginny asked nervously, moving closer to rest against Harry.   
  
"I don't know, Ginny, I just don't know," Harry said. He began to rock Ginny and kissed the top of her head.  
  
"What's the matter?" Snape asked worriedly, breaking a kiss with Hermione.  
  
"I'm still worried, about what will happen. What will happen to us? The Malfoys are going to tell Voldemort, that's inevitable, but what will he do? I know the first thing he'll try to do is kill you. I could never live with myself knowing that I caused your death……" Hermione began.  
  
"You will never be the reason for my death. I choose to love you, I always will, no matter what Voldemort says or does," Snape said, kissing Hermione's hand. She was rather surprised he used Voldemort's actual name.  
  
"I love you," Hermione said close to tears.  
  
"I love you too," Snape said, kissing her deeply again.  
  
"What will happen when he does try to hurt us? What will he do? What will we do?" Hermione asked.  
  
"I don't know, Hermione, I just don't know, but don't worry about it! It's Christmas Eve! We're going to be together for tonight, and that's all that matters," Snape said, putting his arms around Hermione. Just as he did this, and owl flew in. It was a rather large, brown owl, that Hermione didn't recognize. It was holding a red envelope in its beak.  
  
"A Howler," Snape stated simply. He grabbed the letter.  
  
"For whom?" Hermione asked, eyeing the owl carefully.  
  
"It's addressed to both of us," Snape said and began was reaching to open it. It was too late. The letter exploded.  
  
"THE SECRET IS OUT!!! THE PENALTY IS DEATH!!!!" yelled the cold, shrill, voice from inside the envelope. The letter burst into flames and its ashes disappeared before hitting the ground.  
  
"Malfoys?" Hermione asked, still watching where the letter had been.  
  
"I'm afraid it's much worse than that, my dear, I'm afraid the news has reached The Dark Lord Voldemort!" Snape said.  
  
"He'll kill us, won't he?" Hermione asked unnecessarily.  
  
"He'll definitely try to, but as long as I'm around, he won't hurt you, I promise," Snape said, kissing the top of her head.  
  
"You're the best, Severus," Hermione said. She placed her hand on his cheek and pulled him into a kiss.  
  
"I can't believe that Voldemort is going to try and kill them just for being in love!" Parviti said angrily from inside the hall.  
  
"And it's so romantic that they're both willing to risk their life for one another, just so the other can be happy," Lavender said.  
  
"So you think Voldemort will try and penetrate the school?" Parviti asked.  
  
"Yes, but I suppose he'll wait until after the Christmas break, since he knows he'll have virtually all the Slytherins backing him up," Lavender suggested.  
  
"That wouldn't surprise me at all," said the voice of Blaise Zabini.  
  
"Blaise! Didn't you leave the school?" Parviti asked angrily.  
  
"That I did, but I managed to sneak back in, Dumbledore found me, petrified, in the hallway, you remember that, I'm sure. Anyway, I got off with a week's detention. Like I'm going to serve it!" Blaise said smirking. "Anyway, just received a letter from Voldemort, I've been sent to torture that mudblood Granger! He's also told me to kill anyone in my way!" Blaise explained, his wand at the ready.  
  
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!!" Lavender yelled.  
  
"Protego!" Blaise said simply, sending the spell right back at Lavender, who went stiff as a board. "Guess that just leaves you and me, Patil," Blaise said.  
  
"STUPEFY!!!" Parviti yelled.  
  
"Protego!" Blaise said. The spell was sent right back at Parviti, who fell to the ground. "Well, suffice to say, your end is near. It's getting nearer by the second as a matter of fact!" Blaise said smirking. Parviti was slowly getting up.  
  
Snape and Hermione were still kissing passionately, until Hermione pulled away.  
  
"What's wrong?" Snape asked worriedly.  
  
"Nothing, I'm just getting tired, walking back up to the Gryffindor Tower won't be fun," Hermione said, looking at the door.  
  
"Well, you could just use Floo Powder and get their from my office fire," Snape explained confusedly.  
  
"I could….." Hermione began, looking at Snape's bed in the next room. Snape caught on right away.  
  
"Or you could just rest here a little while," Snape said smirking.  
  
"Sounds like a good idea," Hermione said smiling. Snape picked her up and put her on his bed. He began to kiss her. They had picked up right where they left off days ago, before the Malfoys arrived. Snape had taken off her clothes and began to kiss every part of her skin as it was revealed. He got up and took off his own robes as well. Snape was now going over as much over her skin as he could with his tongue. Hermione was gently massaging his skin with her fingers.  
  
"Severus…." Hermione moaned. Snape had silenced her with a kiss.  
  
"Are you sure?" Snape asked, breaking the kiss.  
  
"Mhm" was all Hermione could say. Snape gently pushed himself into her. He started out slow and gentle. Then he started going faster and more intense. Hermione was grabbing his shoulders, even though she was lying down, she needed more support. Then Snape felt some warm liquid running down his back. He half smiled and half cringed. He knew she was squeezing his shoulders so hard that he was bleeding.  
  
After a few hours, they had stopped. Snape put his arm around Hermione, and together, they fell asleep. While Snape and Hermione slept, a fierce battle was going on outside all the while.  
  
"EXPELIARMUS!!!!!" Parviti yelled. Blaise's wand flew out of his hand. Parviti seized this chance to restore Lavender. "Finite!" she yelled, pointing her wand at Lavender. Lavender was slowly getting to her feet.  
  
"Not so fast. Brown, this fight is between me and your friend here, you are in the way. I believe I already mentioned to you what Voldemort told me to do with people in my way. AVADA KEDAVRA!!!" Blaise yelled. Green light went straight to Lavender's heart and she dropped to the ground.  
  
"Well, too bad for you, it won't last, I can almost guarantee your spell wasn't nearly strong enough to kill anyone!" Parviti said confidentaly, smirking.  
  
"Well, see for yourself!" Blaise said grinning. Parviti walked over to Lavender's body. She saw blood rushing out of it. 'I didn't bleed…' Parviti thought. Then she picked up Lavender's limp hand. No pulse.  
  
"NO!!!" Parviti said sobbing. "You killed her! You killed my best friend! I'll kill you!!!" Parviti shouted. "CRUCIO!!!!"  
  
Blaise easily blocked it, "Silly girl! You have to want to hurt me, you have to enjoy seeing pain!" he shouted, laughing. "No you must go to join your dear friend. AVADA KEDAVRA!!" a flash of green light was sent straight towards Parviti. To his dismay, just before hitting her, the green light exploded, instead of killing Parviti, Blaise was sent flying across the hall.  
  
'That's impossible….unless…' Parviti thought back to what she read about theories concerning Voldermort being defeated by Harry when Harry was only a baby. She recalled the theory stating that his mother sacrificed her life, so that Voldemort couldn't hurt Harry. She looked over to Lavender. 'Lavender used her own life so that Blaise couldn't hurt me!' she thought. She could've cried all over again.  
  
"That's impossible!" Blaise yelled.  
  
"Not exactly, Lavender used her own life so that it would be impossible for you to hurt me!!" Parviti yelled triumphantly.  
  
"Well, you win some you lose some, I suppose, but I intend to win this. I might not be able to kill you now, but I can ruin your life! You'll wish I killed you!" Blaise said, and ran away. Parviti ran to the side of her best friend, she knelt down and began to cry.  
  
"Oh my gosh! Severus!" Hermione yelled, shaking Snape gently.  
  
"Yes, my love?" he said smiling at her.  
  
"I have to get back to the Gryffindor towers, Lavender and Parviti have probably already went to Dumbledore about me being gone so long. I bet they're worried sick!" Hermione said.  
  
"Right," Snape agreed. With a swish of his wand, he and Hermione were fully dressed again. They walked out to the door, when they opened it, they both gasped.   
  
"What happened here, Miss Patil?" Snape asked, eyeing Lavender's dead body.  
  
"We came down here to watch, we knew something bad might happen, with the Malfoys on the loose," Parviti explained.  
  
"What about Lavender?" Hermione asked concernedly.  
  
"Blaise Zabini came and attacked us, we were out here fighting for hours, and Lavender had just gotten up to help me, then he killed her. He tried to kill me too, but Lavender must of used her life as sort of a counter-curse. He couldn't kill me, but he promised that after he was through with me, I'd wish I was dead," Parviti explained through tears.  
  
"Go to Dumbledore's office, I will go get Mr. Zabini, stay together, and bring Miss Brown's body with you," Snape instructed.  
  
"Okay, Locomotor Corpus!" Hermione said, and her and Parviti led the way to Dumbledore's office.  
  
"PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE!!" Hermione yelled when they got there, he wasn't at his desk.  
  
"What is it, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked, appearing behind them. He took his seat behind his desk. Then he noticed Lavender's body. Parviti had just finished explaining the whole story and burst into tears again, when Blaise walked in, Snape right behind him.  
  
"Mr. Zabini, you won't deny any of what Miss Patil has just told me, and I'm sure you know the whole story!" Dumbledore said, gesturing towards Lavender's body.  
  
"No, sir, I'll admit it, and I'm actually quite happy I did it too, I didn't particularly care for Lavender much," Blaise said happily, eager to get expelled so that he could join Lord Voldemort.  
  
"I see, well, Mr. Zabini, you will be given an extra three weeks detention. In addition to the one week you already have, you may leave," Dumbledore said. Blaise left, rather surprised.  
  
'How could I not have gotten expelled?' he thought angrily, slamming the door behind him.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore! Why didn't you expel him! He killed Lavender!" Hermione and Parviti were shouting. Snape looked confused.  
  
"I know you all think he deserves to be expelled, and far be it from to argue that, but the minute I expel him, he'll be off helping Voldemort! It's best he stays here, where he can't get stronger, and neither can Voldemort. An expulsion is just what he wanted," Dumbledore explained. "Now off to bed, all of you." they all left. Lavender's body was left behind.  
  
"Good night, Severus, I love you," Hermione said, as they left his office.  
  
"I love you too," he said. He kissed her passionately and left. Hermione turned around to see Parviti, she was forcing a weak smile. Hermione ran up and hugged her.  
  
"Thank you so much, Parviti, I'm so sorry about Lavender," Hermione said.  
  
"Oh, it's okay, I'll get by, I'm just glad we were able to help you," Parviti said. They went back to their dorms and went to sleep.  
  
A/N: poor Lavender! I'll miss her. Whoops! I've just received a review from Duck telling me that it's Parvati as opposed to Parviti. Well, I'll change it from now on, I don't really feel like changing all of them. Well, thanks to all my reviewers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'll update tomorrow! 


	16. I'm not coming!

It was Christmas morning. Hermione was awoken to the sound of someone crying. She looked over to Parvati's bed and discovered it was her.  
  
"Parvati? What's wrong?" Hermione asked, walking over to her bed. She was pretty sure she already knew the answer. Parvati was looking at something on her bed. Hermione gasped when she realized what it was.  
  
On top of Parvati's bed sheets was a picture in a frame. The picture was of Lavender and Parvati hugging on the last day of school, obviously taken in their first year. At the bottom the frame was the inscription "Best Friends Forever".  
  
"This is the Christmas gift she had made for me, she obviously sent it before she……." Parvati began, then collapsed in tears. "I need to go find my sister, please excuse me, Merry Christmas" she said and went off.  
  
"Merry Christmas," Hermione said Parvati's back. Hermione let out a sigh, she turned around to her own pile of gifts and began to open them. From Harry, Ginny and the rest of the Weasleys she received something that rather surprised her. It was a broom. A note fell from the wrapping paper.  
  
"Something that might help our new Gryffindor Keeper, Merry Christmas!" Hermione laughed, putting the note down. She knew since Harry became captain of the Gryffindor team, he wanted her to play. She really was interested but was afraid of not being able to do it. She had no excuse now. She went through the rest of her presents from her family. There was something missing. Then she spotted it, right next to her pillow was a small box shaped package. She opened it eagerly and inside was a necklace. On the necklace was the most beautiful jem she had ever seen. It was a dark red. She put it on and she felt a comforting warmth come through her body. She picked up the note that fell out of the box.  
  
"In a tough situation, I think you'll find this necklace most useful. I hope you like it! Love always, Severus." she folded the note back up and put it in her pocket. She continued on downstairs to the Great Hall.  
  
"Well, well, well, isn't this romantic! A couple kissing in a broom closet!" Blaise said, looking at Padma Patil and Justin Finch-Fletchy.  
  
"Beat it, Blaise!" Justin yelled, his fists clenched.  
  
"Now, now, I don't think Padma wants to see you get your ass kicked, step down," Blaise said smirking.  
  
"What do you want, Blaise?" Padma spat.  
  
"To ruin your sister's life, of course," Blaise stated simply.  
  
"What's that have to do with me?" Padma asked nervously.  
  
"Well, she lost her best friend to me, didn't she? You're all she has left! Once you're gone, she'll have nothing!" Blaise said laughing.  
  
"Leave her alone!" Justin said, his wand at the ready.  
  
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!!" Blaise said, Justin went stiff as a board. "My, I'm beginning to love that spell."  
  
"What are you doing?" Padma asked, her voice shaking.  
  
"Oh, trust me, you'll be the first to find out!" Blaise said wickedly. He lifted Padma up over her shoulders and brought her to a window. Padma screamed and he threw her out of it. "No way she'll survive that!" he said out loud. He pulled a time turner our of his pocket. "I think I'm beginning to find this thing that Draco sent to me increasingly useful, now to torture that mudblood!" he said, spinning the time turner.   
  
He was back to where he was just an hour before. He ran up to the front door and opened it. He allowed the two strongest Death Eaters to enter, Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy.  
  
"Snape is downstairs in his office, attack him there," Blaise said, and continued on upstairs to the Gryffindor tower to meet Hermione as she was coming out. He was finally there. He pointed his wand at the exiting Hermione and said "STUPEFY!"  
  
"Protego!" she said, almost prepared for this attack. "Nice try, Blaise, but you're a bit too slow," she said and continued walking.  
  
"IMPEDIMENTA!!" he yelled. She blocked it easily, again.  
  
"EXPELLIARMUS!!!" Hermione yelled. Blaise went flying, as did his wand. "Accio wand!" Hermione yelled, Blaise's wand came straight to her hand.   
  
"What are you going to do?" Blaise asked nervously. But before she could answer, he jumped at her. He tackled her to the ground and took back his wand. "I hope that'll teach you not to mess with a pure-blood!" Blaise said.  
  
"Nope, Stupefy!" Hermione said, Blaise fell to the ground and Hermione walked away triumphantly.  
  
"CRUCIO!!!" Lucius and Bellatrix said in unison. Snape fell to the ground, twitching in pain. Through the pain, miraculously, Snape stood up.  
  
"Incendio!" Snape shouted. Bellatrix's robes caught fire. Lucius let down his guard trying to help her. "Immobulus!" Snape yelled, Lucius was frozen. Just then Dumbledore walked in.  
  
"How did they get in?" he asked urgently.  
  
"I suspect the Zabini boy let them in!" Snape said, waving his wand, creating a new flame on Bellatrix's robes.  
  
"I see, well, we'll have to deal with him in the only way I see fit," Dumbledore said, and with a wave of his wand, he was dragging the two Death Eaters along with him.  
  
"Hermione!!!" Parvati yelled, sobbing.  
  
"What is it?" Hermione asked.  
  
"It's Padma, she's……she's dead. She was found outside, directly below a sixth floor window. People are saying she killed herself. I don't believe it. I think it was Blaise!" she said, crying again.  
  
"But…..But that's impossible! I was just dueling with Blaise a little while ago, he tried to attack me!" Hermione said nervously.  
  
"Looks can be deceiving, Granger," Blaise said playing with the time turner. "Haven't seen you in a while have I, Patil? How has life been treating you?"  
  
"I hate you," Parvati said, a look of pure repulsion in her eyes.  
  
"Glad to hear it!" Blaise said happily and began on his way downstairs.  
  
"Not so fast Mr. Zabini!" Snape said, grabbing his arm. "Letting two Death Eaters into the school! Dumbledore would like a word. Parvati, Hermione, please come too."  
  
They arrived at Dumbledore's office rather quickly. They went in to find Bellatrix and Lucius tied up on the floor. Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak but Parvati beat him to it. She told him all the events of the day so far, from discovering Padma's death, to Blaise and the time turner.  
  
"I see, Mr. Zabini, I will have no choice but to sentence you to the dementor's kiss, luckily I have quick access to the few remaining dementor's," Dumbledore said.  
  
"Oh, we're all so scared," Voldemort said mockingly.  
  
"Tom! How did you get in here?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"There might be anti-aparation charms all over the school, but what's to stop me from walking in the front door?" Voldemort asked, laughing.  
  
"What do you want here?" Dumbledore asked. Snape was unusually silent.  
  
"Oh just to get my three faithful followers! Lucius! Bellatrix! Severus!" Voldemort said, waving his wand and freeing Bellatrix and Lucius. They immediately went over to Voldemort. "What are you waiting for Severus?" Voldemort asked.  
  
"I'm not coming! I'm not your slave anymore! I've switched sides! What are you going to do about it?" Snape asked firmly.  
  
"Isn't it obvious? I intend to tear you, rip you, kill you!" Voldemort said.  
  
"Not on my watch!" Dumbledore said, raising his wand.  
  
"Expelliarmus!" Voldemort yelled, disarming Dumbledore. "Such a simple spell to disarm supposedly the greatest wizard of all time!" Voldemort laughed.  
  
"CRUCIO!" Snape yelled, Voldemort ducked out of the way.  
  
" 'tis a shame to see one of my most faithful servants choosing such a stupid path. And gallivanting with this mudblood! But, you've chosen death, and death you shall receive," Voldemort said. Fawkes swooped down from his perch and attack Voldemort. Voldemort waved his wand pointlessly, and was chased out of the office.  
  
"Good job Fawkes," Dumbledore said, patting the bird as it returns. A dementor was at his side.  
  
"Mr. Zabini, you will be given five minutes to sort your affairs, then you will receive your punishment, leave!" Dumbledore commanded. Blaise left immediately. "I'm so sorry you girls had to witness all this, and on Christmas." he said. The girls left. "You do realize what will happen now, Severus?"  
  
"He will kill me," Snape said slowly.  
  
"No, never! I sense the beginning of our second war," Dumbledore said strongly.  
  
A/N: Blaise is finally receiving his just punishment. Poor Parvati will finally be able to live her life in peace. Or will she? Dumbledore declared the second war. The fighting begins. I hate to say this, my faithful reviewers, but my story is coming to a close. I don't see it exceeding 20 chapters. I'm sorry this one wasn't great. I promise, it'll get better. I'll try and update later today. Thanks to all my reviewers! 


	17. He did love you

There he sat. Waiting. Dumbledore had given him five minutes to get his affairs in order, what affairs did he have? No family, the only person he had that was close to a friend was Draco, and no girlfriend. He had nothing. No one benefited from his existence.  
  
'Why am I doing this? Why am I being evil? Why am I killing people and ruining peoples' lives?' Blaise thought as he waited in the room where he was to be "kissed". 'I used to be good, I really did. I use to enjoy life, I used to love. Love. That is the one thing I could use right now. But I created a barrier around me and the whole world, making it impossible to love anyone. If only I could remember why I did this, why I stopped loving.' Blaise thought. 'I remember, a long time ago, before Hogwarts even, I had a friend. Her name was Antoinette. I loved her, and she loved me. But she became sick, she died. It was horrible. I cried, or at least I tried to. "Boys don't cry!" my dad would yell. My mom died years earlier, I barely remember her. After that, I was afraid of getting hurt again, I closed myself off from the world.' Blaise thought. He began to do something that even he was surprised he was doing. He began to cry. 'I feel awful, if only I could go back, start my life over, or even just this year, I could avoid all this, or maybe if I could explain apologize, I need time! My time turner! Taken from me……' his tears turned into sobs.  
  
"What's the matter?" a girl asked.  
  
"Don't get too close, I have a habit of ruining peoples' lives," Blaise answered through sobs.  
  
"I'll take my chances, my life is pretty bad as it is," the girl said, laughing slightly.  
  
"Do I know you?" Blaise asked, looking up.  
  
"Guess not, my name is Sage, I'm a Slytherin, but in fifth year," the girl answered.  
  
"Oh, I'm Blaise, nice to meet you, I'm in here about to get a dementor's kiss, but you've probably heard all about that, from a friend or something," Blaise said.  
  
"I really don't have many friends….." Sage answered sadly.  
  
"Welcome to the club," Blaise said.  
  
"So why are they giving you the dementor's kiss?" Sage asked.  
  
"I killed two people, and tried to make the lives of another two people a living hell, I guess I deserve worse then what I'm getting," Blaise admitted.  
  
"Why did you do it?" Sage asked.  
  
"I guess because my life is so bad, I wanted someone else's to be worse, so that way I wouldn't be completely alone, but I guess no matter what I always will be," Blaise said, his tears returning.  
  
"Well, I'm here for you…." Sage began. She actually rested her head on Blaise's shoulder. Blaise did something even he couldn't explain. He put his arm around Sage's shoulder.  
  
"You know, this is the first I've ever felt close to anyone before," Blaise admitted.  
  
"Me too," Sage said. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. Blaise just looked at her for a while. She looked at him. And then, slowly, he leaned in and he kissed her. Soon Blaise felt a warm feeling right in his chest. He reached up to feel it.  
  
"You feel it too?" Sage asked confusedly. He nodded. "What do you suppose it is?" she asked.  
  
"Love," he stated simply, and he kissed her again. Just then the door flew open.  
  
"I'm sorry Blaise, this has to be done," Dumbledore said sadly. A dementor at his right side.  
  
"I'm getting off easily, I deserve so much worse than this," Blaise said strongly.  
  
"DAMN RIGHT YOU DO!!!" Parvati yelled.  
  
"That'll be enough, Miss Patil," Dumbledore said curtly. "Please step away, Sage."   
  
"I'll miss you," Sage said.  
  
"I'll miss you too," Blaise said, kissing her passionately, for the last time. Sage stepped away reluctantly, holding onto his hand for as long as she could. Dumbledore pointed to Blaise reluctantly and the dementor flew right to him. The dementor had grasped Blaise's face and was about to kiss his neck.  
  
"I love you, Blaise!!" Sage yelled.  
  
"I love you too, Sage!!" Blaise yelled, and for three seconds in his life, he felt happy, he felt complete. He smiled as the dementor put its lips to his neck, and that was it.  
  
"NOOOO!!!!!" Sage yelled, the one time in her life she was happy and it was taken from her. She began to sob uncontrollably.   
  
"Sage, you don't understand, he caused misery to all those whom he disliked, what was stopping him from doing the same to you?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"He…..he said that he loved me!" Sage said.  
  
"He loved you? Are you certain? This is a boy who never allowed anyone to be close to him before in his life, how could he love you, after just meeting you?" Dumbledore asked, quite puzzled.  
  
"Well, he did love me! I'm positive! See for yourself!" Sage persisted.  
  
"Legilimins!!!" Dumbledore said, pointing his wand at the close to lifeless Blaise. He saw in his mind, Blaise couldn't fight back. Dumbledore saw a woman's funeral, with a little baby crying, a young child crying at the loss of a friend, a boy who continually got beaten by his father, a boy who never loved, getting sorted into Slytherin, standing alone, watching everyone else make friends, killing Lavender, wanting to ruin Parvati's life, killing Padma, attempting to attack Hermione, getting beaten, crying alone in that very room, talking to Sage, putting his arm around her, kissing her, holding onto to Sage's hand for as long as he kid, Sage saying that she loved him, him saying he loved her, the dementor's kiss. That was all.   
  
"Well?" Sage asked, still in tears.  
  
"He did love you, I'm so sorry Sage," Dumbledore said, a tear falling down his face. Sage ran out of the room.  
  
"I never thought it possible, for Blaise to love, and feel other human emotions, he just never seemed normal," Hermione said sadly.  
  
"He wasn't, Miss Granger, he was different. He wouldn't look for love, assuming his heart would just get broken anyway, he chose to live his life miserably, he wanted to separate himself from the rest of the world. But just before he died, he was happy. He had found love. Or I should say, that it found him," Dumbledore explained. Hermione felt weak. She wanted to cry. She took Severus's hand, and held it as hard she could. Dumbledore and Parvati left the room. Snape and Hermione just stood there. Hermione was just looking straight ahead, holding Snape's hand. Snape leaned in and he kissed her on the cheek.  
  
"I love you," he said.  
  
"I love you too, Severus," Hermione said. They walked out of the room, hand in hand.  
  
A/N: well, Blaise got what he had coming to him, right? Right? I know a lot of you wanted Blaise to suffer the dementor's kiss, but do you still wish that? I'm really curious, so please, all my readers, give your opinion on that. Anyway, the war should be starting soon. Thanks to all my reviewers. Keep them coming, I want to know your opinions and suggestions! Anyway, I'm hoping for this story to be at least 21 chapters, but that might be hard. I won't settle for less than 20 though. I'll update tomorrow! 


	18. Anything interesting happen

"Anything interesting happen while we were at the Burrow?" Harry asked, as he and Ginny returned.  
  
"Oh, you guys, it was awful. Deaths, attacks, Voldemort, terrible things have been happening," Hermione cried.  
  
"Deaths? Who?" Harry asked urgently.  
  
"Lavender and Padma. Blaise Zabini killed them, he even tried to attack me," Hermione said.  
  
"That's awful! I suppose he was expelled?" Ginny asked worriedly.  
  
"Well, after killing Lavender, he just got a few detentions….." Hermione began.  
  
"A few detentions?! Has Dumbledore lost his marbles?!" Harry asked angrily.  
  
"No, Harry, he knew that if Blaise was expelled, it was just mean another supporter of Voldemort running around," Hermione explained.  
  
"Well, he should've done something….." Harry grumbled.  
  
"Well, after Dumbledore found out about him killing Padma and trying to attack me, he was sentenced to the dementor's kiss," Hermione explained.  
  
"Seriously? I was wondering why he hadn't been around. Just as well, I suppose, he really had no reason to live. He loved no one and no one loved him," Harry said.  
  
"Well, that's where you're wrong," Hermione began.  
  
"Someone loved him?" Ginny asked, surprised.  
  
"Sage, she's in fifth year, just before he was er…..'kissed', they fell in love, it was actually rather sad, she was crying and everything. I actually felt a little bad for Blaise…." Hermione said.  
  
"Ugh, now what's this about Voldemort?" Harry asked worriedly.  
  
"Well, before Blaise tried to attack me, he let Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange into the school, to attack Severus. Dumbledore tied them up in his office, then Voldemort somehow got into the school undetected, he came for Severus, Lucius, and Bellatrix," Hermione began, before she was interrupted.  
  
"Aha! I knew Snape was still a faithful servant of Voldemort!" Harry said triumphantly.  
  
"Harry! Don't be ridiculous! He risked his life saying no!" Hermione yelled angrily.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry….." Harry said, embarrassed.   
  
"Ugh, lets go down to the Great Hall," Hermione said.  
  
"You go ahead, we'll meet you down there, we still have some unpacking to do," Harry said.  
  
"Okay, I'll see you in a little while," Hermione said, knowing perfectly well that Harry and Ginny just wanted some time alone. Hermione walked into the Great Hall, to her surprise, it was completely silent. Five minutes later, Harry and Ginny walked in. Ginny's hair seemed significantly messier.  
  
"What's going on?" Ginny asked confusedly.  
  
"Quiet down everyone, I have a few announcements to make," Dumbledore said, answering Ginny's question. "As most of you know, several terrible events have occurred at Hogwarts over the Christmas break. Including the death of Lavender Brown and Padma Patil, Blaise Zabini being sentenced to the dementor's kiss, and two death eaters and Lord Voldemort breaking in." There were several gasps from the crowd. "I'm afraid, in order to free some of the ex-death eaters, and so that witches and wizards of muggle heritage can live freely and happily, the second war will begin in a matter of days." more gasps. "Please finish your dinner and head back to your common room immediately, in the event of another break in. We can't take any chances."  
  
Dinner was over and the students were filtering out of the Great Hall. Harry, Ginny, and Hermione ran up to Dumbledore in order to speak with him.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore, we know we're young, but we want to help fight! We know, nearly everyone will object, but no matter what, we're going to be a part of this war!" Harry declared firmly. Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak, but Harry interrupted, "There's no point in objecting, we're doing it either way, we've all decided."  
  
"I wasn't about to object, even though I hate to see young people risking their lives, I'm afraid the Order is greatly out numbered. Voldemort is getting more and more supporters. I'm afraid we'll have to recruit any students who are willing to do so. I'm quite afraid that the majority of the Slytherins will be joining the dark side," Dumbledore said sadly.  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry, we're all going to get as much of the other students as possible to join, I'm sure they'll all be willing to help. Especially the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, because of the death in those two houses," Ginny concluded.  
  
"Good, now get up to your common room, immediately," Dumbledore said sternly.  
  
"Yes, sir" they all said in unison. The three started to go upstairs, then Hermione stopped, and turned.  
  
"Where are you going, Hermione?" Harry asked concernedly.  
  
"Oh, I just have to use the bathroom," Hermione said, turning into the bathroom.  
  
"Oh, okay, do you want us to wait for you?" Harry asked.  
  
"No, that's quite alright, go ahead," Hermione assured them. They went on upstairs, hand in hand.  
  
Hermione went into the bathroom and began to cry.   
  
"What's up?" said a ghostly figure that was Ron.  
  
"Oh, Ron, the war is starting, and it's all my fault," Hermione said in tears.  
  
"How is it your fault?" Ron asked, putting a ghostly arm around Hermione's shoulder.  
  
"If I didn't love Severus….." Hermione began sobbing.  
  
"Nonsense! You shouldn't be afraid to love anyone, because of what some git like Voldemort says, this war is being fought for the good of all people in your situation! The second war was inevitable anyway, it doesn't matter who you dated. Don't you go thinking it was your fault!" Ron said sternly.  
  
"Oh, you're right, Ron, I know you are, but I can't just help thinking it's all my fault," Hermione cried.  
  
"Perish the thought, understand?" Ron said, tilting up Hermione's chin so that they were looking eye to eye.  
  
"I'll try, Ron, honest," Hermione promised.  
  
"Good, well, I better go now," Ron said, drifting away.  
  
"I miss you, Ron," Hermione said crying.  
  
"I miss you too," Ron said, disappearing. Hermione walked out of the door and began walking upstairs. She was forced to a stop, as someone had just wrapped her arms behind her back.  
  
"Lets see if we can't lure Severus right into my clutches, you'll make excellent bait! Hope you don't have plans," Voldemort said, laughing.  
  
"LET HER GO!!!" Snape yelled, running up the stairs.  
  
"Oh, good you're here, just in time to see me take your girlfriend away," Voldemort said excitedly.  
  
"NEVER!!" Snape yelled, jumping at Voldemort. He jumped out of the way easily. He ran downstairs, Hermione behind him, being dragged along by magic.  
  
"I love you!!!" Hermione yelled.  
  
"I love you too….." Snape said, even though she was out of ear shot. He fell to the floor sobbing. She was gone, and he couldn't do anything about it.  
  
A/N: Oh no!!! what will come of our dear Hermione? Will Severus come to her rescue? Lets hope so. Well, thanks to all my reviewers! Oh, and please take a look at the one shot fic that I posted last night entitled "What Will the Family Say?" it's a RW/GW fic. It's a little over 1,000 words, but it's good. Please review! I'll be sure to update tomorrow! 


	19. Tomorrow at sunrise

"What do you want with me?" Hermione cried as Voldemort chained her to a wall.  
  
"You're just bait, I intend to use you to lure Severus here," Voldemort said evilly.  
  
"What will you do to him?" Hermione asked, her voice shaking.  
  
"Kill him, naturally," Voldemort said conversationally.   
  
"Why are you doing this?" Hermione asked, crying.  
  
"Ask Severus, by gallivanting with you, a mudblood, he signed his death warrant," Voldemort explained coldly. Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out, there was nothing she could say to stop him and she knew it.  
  
"What are you going to do with me?" Hermione said finally.  
  
"Torture you, he'll come looking for you, coming to your rescue," Voldemort told her.  
  
"T-Torture me? How?" Hermione asked nervously.  
  
"In my favorite way, like this, CRUCIO!!!" Voldemort yelled. The sparks were flying right at Hermione, she closed her eyes, knowing she couldn't stop them. Then, just when the sparks should've hit her chest, they were absorbed by another force. "What the……CRUCIO!!!" Voldemort yelled again. The sparks were absorbed again. "AAAAARRGH!!!! Fine, I'll figure out later what to do with you! Glacio!" Voldemort yelled. Soon, Hermione was trapped inside a huge block of ice.  
  
'For being trapped in a ice block, I'm actually rather warm,' Hermione thought. Then the ice started to shake. It exploded, freeing Hermione. Then it hit her, "Severus' necklace!" she whispered to herself. She felt the warmth threw her body.  
  
Voldemort didn't know what to do. Out of frustration, he yelled "CRUCIO!!" again. The sparks were absorbed for a third time. Voldemort started screaming angrily.  
  
(Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts)  
  
"Severus? What's the matter?" Dumbledore asked urgently.  
  
"It's Hermione, Voldemort came, he took her away. I tried to save her but I couldn't…." Snape said, crying harder.  
  
"I'm sorry, Severus, but there's nothing we can do….." Dumbledore said sadly, patting Snape on the back.  
  
Then Snape felt it, the strange warmth. He lifted up the red jewel that he on the chain around it's neck and found that it was emitting the strange warmth. "Yes there is!" Snape said triumphantly, smirking. He began to run off, toward the direction the red jewel was pulling him.  
  
"Severus? Where are you going?" Dumbledore asked confusedly.  
  
"No time to explain, just follow me!" Snape said, being pulled along by the necklace. Dumbledore followed, not asking questions. Within minutes, Snape and Dumbledore was at Voldemort's hideout.  
  
"He's in there? You're sure?" Dumbledore asked, eyeing the building.  
  
"Positive," Snape said, bursting through the doors.  
  
"We've been expecting you, Severus," Lucius Malfoy said slyly.  
  
"Malfoy! Where's Hermione?" Snape demanded.  
  
"Who? Oh, the mudblood, I would expect that she's already dead," Lucius said casually.  
  
"You're bluffing!" Snape said skeptically. 'Maybe he's not, maybe we're too late," he thought urgently. Then he felt it again. The strange warmth coming from his chain. He knew that she must still be alive.  
  
"Am I?" Lucius said, smirking. Draco laughed.  
  
"Yes, STUPEFY!" Snape yelled. Lucius fell to the ground. Then Snape noticed that the two Malfoys weren't the only people there. There were at least half a dozen other Death Eaters there, facing him and laughing. It was seven Death Eaters versus Snape and Dumbledore. Snape recognized all of the Death Eaters there, Lestrange, Dolhov, Rookwood, Crabbe, Goyle, Macnair and Draco. All of their wands at the ready.  
  
"EXPELLIA….." Rookwood began.  
  
"TARACTICUM OFFICINALE!!!!" Dumbledore yelled. Where Rookwood was standing, a flower was there.  
  
"STU…" Draco began, but his puny spell was no match for two grown wizards.  
  
"STUPEFY!!" Dumbledore said. Draco fell to the ground, next to his father.  
  
"This is taking too long, we're going to be too late!" Snape said nervously.  
  
"Right you are," Dumbledore said, he pushed Severus to the ground and waved his wand. There was a puff of smoke, and all the Death Eaters were knocked unconscious. "Are you okay, Severus?" Dumbledore said, helping Snape up.  
  
"Fine, lets go!" Snape said, running, Dumbledore at his heels. Snape burst through the next door, he gasped. On the ground right in front of him, was Hermione's dead body. He fell to the ground next to her and began to cry. Perhaps the strange warmth coming from his chain right this second meant nothing.  
  
"Anything strange about this picture, Severus?" Dumbledore asked calmly.  
  
Snape looked around, there was blood all over her body, yet there wasn't so much as a cut anywhere on her. He smirked as he raised his wand. "Riddikulus!!!" he yelled. The boggart immediately blew up and popped, and went back into the darkness. They moved on. They hadn't gone very far when they saw Hermione again, and Snape's chain began to shake violently. She was still alive.  
  
"Thought you'd never get here, isn't that right, mudblood?" Voldemort said coldly.  
  
"I knew…" Hermione said weakly.  
  
"I bet you weren't expecting me though, eh, Tom?" Dumbledore said.  
  
"Dumbledore! No matter, DIFFINDO!!!" Voldemort yelled, aiming for Dumbledore's wand. Dumbledore simply spun his wand around in his fingers and dodged the spell.  
  
"STUPEFY!!!" Snape yelled, aiming at Voldemort. Voldemort easily dodged it.  
  
"I'll take care of him, Severus," Dumbledore said winking. Snape nodded and ran over to where Hermione was tied up.  
  
"Alohomora!" Snape yelled, pointing his wand at the chains. Hermione was free. She ran up to Snape and hugged him tightly.  
  
"We should help Dumbledore," Hermione said finally, breaking the hug.  
  
"Right, you go behind Voldemort and I'll attack him from the side," Snape whispered. They ran off to their posts. Snape nodded to Dumbledore, signaling that all was ready.  
  
"IMEPIMENTA!!!" Dumbledore yelled. Voldemort was frozen.  
  
"FEREVERTO!!" Snape yelled. Voldemort was transfigured into a goblet.  
  
Hermione knew what she had to do next. "REDUCTO!!" she yelled. The goblet that was Voldemort was reduced to dust.  
  
"Is it over?" Snape asked, looking at the dust.  
  
"Lets hope so, but I do it could be this easy," Dumbledore said. Soon, the dust began to shake. The pieces came together, and the goblet was back in one piece. It started to shake. It was about to become Voldemort again.  
  
"RUN!!!" Snape yelled, pushing Dumbledore and Hermione threw he door. They ran past the Death Eaters and back outside. Voldemort ran up to the door and stopped.  
  
"Tomorrow at sunrise," Voldemort said and faded away.  
  
"What did he mean by that?" Hermione asked confusedly.  
  
"The war will begin tomorrow," Dumbledore said, still looking at the spot where Voldemort was seconds before. "We must go alert the Order."  
  
They went back to school. As it turned out the Order was already there, completely. As were hundreds upon hundreds of students.   
  
"I alerted them all," Harry explained. Dumbledore nodded.  
  
"I notice no Slytherins are still here," Snape said disappointedly.  
  
"I'm afraid that's incorrect," Sage said, running to the front of the crowd. She was the only one there.  
  
"Where are the others?" Snape asked her.  
  
"Gone, they all left to help the Dark Lord," Sage said, looking sadly at the ground.  
  
"When will it start?" Tonks asked nervously.  
  
"Tomorrow at sunrise, I advise that you all get a good night's sleep, off to bed with all of you," Dumbledore said, they all went out of the hall.  
  
"I hope they're all ready," Snape said.  
  
"I have the utmost confidence in them all," Dumbledore said, and they both went in their separate directions.  
  
A/N: well, I want you all to be honest, in a review, how many of you actually believed for a second that Hermione was dead? I thought it'd be an interesting twist to the story. Well, thanks to all my reviewers! Be sure to R&R my one-shot RW/GW fic "What Will the Family Say". anyway, I'll try and update before the end of the day. 


	20. Severus

A/N: okay, well, I have no clue how a wizarding war works exactly, but so there's no confusion, this is how I'm going to make it: each side will be standing opposite the other side. A spell will be cast and a red line will appear through where the battle will be taking place, (this war will be fought through the whole world) it will explode, or sink into the earth and everyone will be mixed up (like an Order wizard will be paired off with a Death Eater and they'll have to fight), then the line reappears and stays until the war is over. If there's any questions on this concept, don't hesitate to IM or e-mail me! Now, let the war commence!   
  
It was minutes before dawn, the two sides were standing opposite each other, ready for battle. There it was, the first ray of sunlight.  
  
Dumbledore and Voldemort both pointed their wands at the ground between them and yelled "Commencus!" a red line separated the Order and the Death Eaters. The students watched interestedly, as they had never seen this happen before. The red line sunk into the ground, and everything began to shake, then there was a huge explosion and people went flying in every direction.  
  
Harry landed with a loud "thump" and was afraid to get up, he knew he'd be facing Voldemort himself, just as the prophecy had said. But then, he reluctantly got up and to his amazement, the Dark Lord wasn't there, instead he was standing face to face with Lucius Malfoy.  
  
"Well, this is a shocking turn of events," Lucius drawled. "No matter, I intend to teach you a lesson you won't soon forget either way, EXPELLIARMUS!!!" he yelled. Harry drew his wand to protect himself, but it was too late, his wand flew from his hand and Harry himself went flying backwards, hitting a cold wall. It was then that he realized where he was, he was in the Hogwarts' dungeons.   
  
He got up and ran for his wand, "REDUCTO!!!" Harry yelled, pointing at Lucius' right arm.  
  
Lucius was ready for this, "PROTEGO!!!" he yelled, the spell bounced back but Harry dodged it just in time. This was going to be harder than Harry thought.  
  
Dumbledore got up and he was faced with Bellatrix Lestrange, he was ready. He just waved his wand, and she was immediately tied up in what appeared to be cobwebs. She couldn't free herself from them, they were wrapped to tightly around her.  
  
"DIFFINDO!!!" Bellatrix yelled, her wand was in her hand when Dumbledore used his spell. Two magic swords came out of the sky and slashed through the cobwebs, freeing Bellatrix. "STUPEFY!!" she yelled.   
  
Dumbledore just raised his cloak over his eyes and the spell was blocked. "GLACIO!!!" he yelled, Bellatriz was frozen in a giant ice block. He had another chance to attack. "REDUCTO!!!" he yelled, Bellatrix's frozen body was reduced to little more than a pile of dust. Then, surprisingly, Dumbledore began to cry. "I'm sorry, Bellatrix," he said, he had never killed anyone before, especially not one of his own students.  
  
"TARACTICUM OFFICINALE!!!" Tonks yelled at Marcus Flint.  
  
"PROTEGO!!!" Marcus yelled, the spell was sent flying back, but Tonks dodged it.  
  
"REDUCTO!!!" they both yelled in unison, instead of canceling each other out, the two spells hit their destination, destroying the other's wand.  
  
"AAAARRGH!!! Look what you've done now, you filthy halfbreed!" Marcus yelled.  
  
"How dare you!!" Tonks yelled, going up to Marcus and slapping him hard, across the face.  
  
"What's your problem?!" Marcus yelled, touching his cheek gingerly.  
  
"My problem?!" Tonks argued.  
  
"That's what I said! Or do halfbreed only hear half as well as people like us?" Marcus yelled, stepping up, his face right up in Tonks. She just stood there, looking at him, breathing heavily, as he was doing. Then, he leaned in farther, so did she, then they both leaned in at the same time. They began to kiss passionately.  
  
"FERNUNCULUS!!!" Hermione yelled at Draco. The spell hit. Draco's teeth began to grow by enormous amounts, soon he couldn't even fight anymore, his kept tripping, and ruining his concentration.  
  
"Even I hate to do this, Draco, but it's inevitable anyway, so, AVADA KEDAVRA!!!" Hermione yelled. Draco was killed instantly.  
  
"STUPEFY!!!" Sage yelled at Rookwood.   
  
"PROTEGO!!!" he yelled, evading the attack. The attack went back, and hit Sage who fell to the ground. "I take great pride in doing this, traitor of Slytherin, AVADA KEDAVRA!!!!" Rookwood yelled. Sage was killed instantly.  
  
"EXPELLIARMUS!!!!" Ginny yelled. The spell hit Goyle's dad right in the chest and he was disarmed and thrown back.  
  
He ran up and got his wand. "STUPEFY!!!" he yelled.  
  
"PROTEGO! You have to be quicker than that!" Ginny retorted, blocking the spell. "TARACTICUM OFFICINALE!!!" she yelled. He jumped out of the way of her spell.  
  
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!!" he yelled. Ginny dodged it.  
  
She had him right where she wanted him. "AVADA KEDVARA!!!" Ginny yelled reluctantly. Goyle's dad dropped dead on the spot. Harry ran to where she thought Ginny would be. Sure enough, there he was in the dungeons fighting Lucius Malfoy.  
  
"AVADA KEDAVRA!!!" Lucius yelled, aiming at Harry.  
  
"NO!!!!" Ginny yelled, jumping in the path of Lucius' spell. It hit her directly in the heart. She fell to the ground.  
  
"GINNY!!!" Harry yelled, running over to her body. She picked up her hand. No pulse. She was dead. "Ginny…." Harry cried. He was sobbing in a matter of seconds, over the body of his love.  
  
"Mwahahahahahahaha!!! So sorry, Potter, did you love the little twit?" Lucius laughed.  
  
"YOU!!!" Harry yelled.  
  
"Me indeed, I'd love to stay and finish you off too, but I figure I'd rather see you be miserable, and I better go to see if the Dark Lord needs my assistance," Lucius said and walked away. Harry didn't have the strength to follow him, all he could do was sit there, and cry over the body of the only person to love him.  
  
Snape had just gotten up to see who he would be dueling. He expected Lucius Malfoy, 'piece of cake,' he thought. When he got up, however, he shocked to see the Dark Lord Voldemort himself.  
  
"It's so interesting how these wars sort you, don't you think, Severus?" Voldemort asked innocently.  
  
"Shut up and lets get on with it!" Snape snarled.  
  
"Very well, CRUCIO!!!" Voldemort yelled. Snape fell to the ground, cringing in pain. "Had enough yet?" Voldemort asked, lifting the curse.  
  
Snape didn't answer with a yes or no. Instead he yelled, "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!!!"  
  
Voldemort easily blocked the spell with his hand. "CRUCIO!!!" he yelled again. Snape was back on the ground. Voldemort lifted the curse, "What about now?"  
  
Nothing was working, Snape couldn't beat the Dark Lord, he was too weak. 'Unless…..' he thought. He knew what he had to do. "Yes, and you're done too, Voldemort!!" Snape spat.  
  
"Really? And who's going to finish me off?" Voldemort laughed.  
  
Snape didn't answer. Instead he pointed his wand straight up in the air and started to mumble something under his breath. It was obviously a long and complex incantation, because Snape was still saying it when Hermione had spotted where he and Voldemort were fighting, Draco was hanging over her shoulder, dead.  
  
"SEVERUS, DON'T DO IT!!!" Hermione yelled. She knew what he was about to do.  
  
The finally, Snape stopped mumbling. "Where's this amazing curse?" Voldemort laughed. His question was soon answered. There was a blinding flash of light and when it was gone, Voldemort had disappeared. Hermione looked around, the Death Eaters were gone too. They had vanished along with the blinding light. Then Hermione saw Snape, lying on the ground, in pain.  
  
"Severus, why did you do it?" Hermione cried.  
  
"I did it so that you could live without fear, as long as you're happy, I'm happy," Snape said, smiling up at her.  
  
Hermione pulled him up for a kiss. "But I don't want you to die…" Hermione cried, breaking the kiss.  
  
"I'm sorry sweetheart. I would love to spend forever with you, but I must go now…" Snape said, still smiling. "Don't cry for me, I'm not worth all that."  
  
"I love you Severus," Hermione said crying.  
  
"And I love you too, and I always will, even in death, always remember that Hermione, goodbye," Snape said, kissing her hand.  
  
"Goodbye Severus…." Hermione said, her tears were uncontrollable know. She was crying over her Snape's body, when something strange happened. He disappeared and bunch of tiny sparks were in his place, they began to float away. Hermione's necklace started to grow warm again, and pulled her in the direction of the sparks. She followed them all the way down to the dungeons, where she found Harry crying over Ginny's dead body.  
  
"Harry, I'm so sorry…." Hermione began.  
  
"She sacrificed her life for me, she jumped in front of Lucius' death curse, which was aimed at me. She jumped in front of it, she was killed instantly," Harry explained, he was in tears too.  
  
Then Hermione noticed, the sparks she was following had settled themselves over Ginny's body. They had sunk into her. She began to move slightly.  
  
"Harry, look!" Hermione said, pointing to Ginny.  
  
Ginny opened her eyes, and leaned up. "What happened?" Ginny asked groggily.  
  
"Ginny!" Harry said, still crying. He wrapped Ginny in a big hug. She didn't ask, she just hugged him back.  
  
Hermione was still crying about Snape and trying to force a smile at Ginny. Then all of sudden, she felt a sharp kick in her stomach. "Ouch!" she said.  
  
"What?" Harry and Ginny asked concernedly.  
  
"Nothing, really, I'm just going to go for a lie down in the hospital wing," Hermione said and walked away. The halls were full of happy students and Order members. Except Tonks, who was crying.  
  
"She was making out with Marcus Flint instead of fighting him! Now that he's gone, she's all upset!" Moody was explaining to Lupin.  
  
Hermione continued on her way to the hospital wing, when she got there, she went to lie down on one of the beds.  
  
"What's the problem?" Madame Pomfrey asked Hermione.  
  
"I'm not exactly sure, but I just felt a kick in my stomach, do you think you could check it out for me?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Certainly!" Pomfrey said, and was muttering some spells, waving her wand up and down Hermione's body. "Congratulations!" she said happily.  
  
"What?" Hermione asked confusedly.  
  
"Why, you're pregnant! Who's the father?" Pomfrey asked.  
  
Hermione thought about it. "Severus Snape," she said, tears returning to her eyes.  
  
"I see…I'm so sorry Hermione," Pomfrey said.  
  
"Madame Pomfrey, do you think I'd be able to have a word with Hermione?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Er…sure," she said, and walked out.  
  
"Professor, Severus died in order to…." Hermione began.  
  
"Rid the whole wizarding world of evil, I'm quite aware," Dumbledore said politely.  
  
"Why wasn't he able to come back like Ginny was?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Severus used his remaining strength to revive Ginny," Dumbledore said. "He knew that he wouldn't have been able to return himself."   
  
"Why not?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Well you see, Voldemort is an experienced Seer, he is quite skilled in Divination, he knew Severus was going to do what he did. So ahead of time, he was able to cast a spell on Severus' body, which made it impossible for him to come back as Ginny had. Nor could he return as a ghost. All because of Voldemort's spell." Dumbledore explained. "I assume Severus thought that might as well make what was left of himself useful, and revive Ginny." Dumbledore concluded.   
  
Hermione began to cry. "I miss him…." she said through tears.  
  
"As we all do, Hermione, but he blessed you, he left you something to remember him by, his own son," Dumbledore said, staring at Hermione stomach. Dumbledore left, Hermione followed soon after.  
  
"Hermione, what's wrong?" Harry asked later.  
  
"I'm pregnant," she stated simply.  
  
"That's wonderful!" Ginny yelled.   
  
"We have some good news too," Harry said smiling.  
  
"What's that?" Hermione asked.  
  
"We're getting married!" they said in unison. Hermione smiled broadly at her two best friends.  
  
"So you're pregnant? Any ideas for a name?" Harry asked.  
  
"Severus," Hermione said casually. Despite Snape's death less than twenty four hours earlier, Hermione was beginning to feel happier than she had ever been. She saw something silvery out of the corner of her eye. She turned around abruptly. It was gone.  
  
"Did you see something?" Ginny asked, looking I the same direction Hermione was.  
  
"Not sure," Hermione said, she knew it was Severus' ghost, just saying goodbye one last time.  
  
"Too bad about Sage, eh?" Harry said.  
  
"What happened to Sage?" Hermione asked nervously.  
  
"She was killed, in the war," Ginny answered sadly.  
  
"I'll be right back," Hermione said, getting up to go where Sage was fighting. She didn't make it all the way however, because she saw Flitwick carrying her up stairs.  
  
"Sage, she's died," he said sadly.  
  
"Sage I'm so sorry," Hermione said, looking at her body.  
  
"Don't be!" Sage's ghost said happily.  
  
Hermione turned around and notice that Sage wasn't alone, she was holding the hand of Blaise's ghost.  
  
"For once, I'm finally happy," Sage said, kissing Blaise on the cheek and together they walked away.  
  
"Tell Severus that I love him!" Hermione yelled.  
  
"Oh we will," Blaise assured her, and together Sage and Blaise disappeared.  
  
The End  
  
A/N: how sad. Severus died and this is the end of my story. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks to all my reviewers. I intend to write more in the future, not sure what pair though, but anyone who is interested in reading future stories, either e-mail me, or put your e-mail address in a review saying that you want future stories. Well, goodbye for now! 


End file.
